At Em Oh Battle City
by Youngbountygirl
Summary: Atem is off to a new adventure of retrieving Yugi's lost memories. To do this, he must gather three god cards and defeat Marik, who holds two god cards. As Battle City continues, things are about to get BLOODY. sequel to At-Em-Oh Duelist Kingdom
1. Introductions

**Here is Battle City people! This will be hard to do since I cannot and I mean CANNOT find online manga versions of the ending part of battle city. I'm lucky to even find English manga versions of the possessed Joey versus Yugi. I'll have to be extremely lucky to find a Yugi versus Bakura. If anyone has a link to an English version or spoilers, please comment me a link. Here are the introductions to each character. Review please!**

Atem Moto was a regular teenage boy with regular teenage problems of his own until he solved the millennium puzzle and gained the dark powers from it. On the long run, he's also sharing a body with an annoying spirit, who happens to have ruled a country at one point and called _pharaoh_. Atem also had gained new friends: Tea Garner, Hanaski Tomoya, Seto Kaiba, Mokuba Kaiba, Ryan Bakura, Ryou Bakura, Mai Valentine, and many more. Atem has just finished the Duelist Kingdom tournament and defeated Pegasus, but his adventures have only begun.

Atem Moto: For eight years, Atem has tried to solve the millennium puzzle. He now has gained new powers and a spirit who lives inside him. With him, Atem has developed a new understanding of the people around him. He also has learned to show affection to the people around him through words, actions, and physical contact. At one point, Atem, along with Joey, had joined a gang that sold drugs and alcohol, and _unknowingly_ raped women. After finding out about the _raping women_ part, Atem and his ex girlfriend left the gang. It's revealed that Atem had once had multiple girlfriends or _"sex partners"_ as he calls them, because he had no romantic feelings for them. Besides his current girlfriend, the only girl Atem admits he's ever had any love affections with is Olivia. Atem is currently dating Serenity, a childhood lover once separated at age 10 and reunited seven years later. Atem has entered Duelist Kingdom and won to provide the money for Serenity to get her eyes fixed, so she won't be perminetly blind. Atem also bullied Hanaski at once point and was long-time enemies with Tea. After Yugi became a part of Atem's life, Atem has developed an understanding towards Tea and now considers her and Hanaski his _close friends_. Along the way, Atem met Seto Kaiba, who refuses to make any _friends_, believing they would _interfere_ with his business work. Though, he still believes this, he cannot deny that him and Atem share some sort of _friendship_. Mokuba also shares a close friendship with Atem and considers him like a _second older brother_. To the Kaiba brothers, they consider Atem as their family. Atem has also met Ryan Bakura, who shares a body with an ancient spirit much like himself. Though, in Ryan's situation, Ryou has an evil spirit who once turned Atem, his friends, and some of Ryan's previous friends into dolls. Now that Ryan has the ring around his neck again, the evil spirit is bound to show up at any moment. Atem has also befriended Mai Valentine, whom he once considered a slut wanting to_ jump his bones_, then discovered Mai's true colors. Atem and Mai now are considered _good friends_. The millennium items Atem currently knows about are the puzzle (himself), the ring (Ryan Bakura), the scale and key (Shadi), and eye (previously owned by Pegasus, but suspects Ryan _unknowingly_ has it). Atem is currently working with Seto for a new tournament _Battle City_ to makeup for their last duel, which turned to a _life and death_ duel. Hopefully, Battle City won't end up like that_ right?_ Atem hopes to help Yugi retrieve his memories, though he doesn't know _how_ so far.

Yugi: A 3000 year old spirit with no memory of his past. He lives inside Atem and shares a _deep brotherly_ bond. He often calls Atem _"brother"_ and loves to cuddle and feel physical affections from him _because of their bond._ Yugi has known Atem longer than he has known Yugi, seeing how he has memories of watching Atem from when he was a small child without any_ physical touch or communications._ Despite this, Yugi loves Atem like his own soul and _differently_ than anyone else. Yugi shares romantic feelings for Tea Garner, much to Atem's annoyance. Though, Atem now has gained understanding of Yugi's and Tea's _wanting_ each other, wanting to share romantic feelings for Serenity as well. Atem admits to Tea that he's glad that she is dating Yugi and shares romantic feelings for him. Though, Yugi still believes his feelings for Atem is _stronger_, since most romantic couples break up while theirs is _eternal_. Yugi shares a close friendship with Hanaski Tomoya and considers him a best friend, also the first to know about him and Atem sharing a body. There's a hint that Yugi shares a spiritual connection with Dark Magician, whom he calls _"Mahad."_ Yugi has also discovered about the seven millennium items that contain the mysteries of his lost memories. He's just discovered that he once ruled Egypt as Pharaoh at one point, but is still confused on who he is and where he came from, even his own _true name_. Hopefully, Yugi will solve the mysteries of his lost memories when he returns to Japan, though it will take alot of courage.

Joey Wheeler: Atem's childhood and _best friend_. Joey and Atem were once _always_ together and _never_ seen far apart until Atem solved the puzzle, sharing a body with a spirit, Yugi. Once Joey noticed the change in his friend's change in personality, hanging with Tea, and running around with Hanaski, he started _questioning_ Atem. After discovering about Yugi's existence, Joey has developed a close companionship with Yugi. Joey joined the Duelist Kingdom tournament _illegally_ to help Atem win the money for his sister's operation, then _disqualified_ after the duel with Bandit Keith. Despite this, Joey has become a stronger duelist and shares a spiritual connection with Red-Eyes Black Dragon or _"Damon,"_ an ancient spirit, who was close with a younger brother, a reincarnate of Joey Wheeler. Mai Valentine has a crush on Joey, but it is uncertain if he feels the same way.

Hanaski Tomoya: A shy and timid boy, who is a _Zombire_ fanatic. He brings _Zombire_ comic books to school almost everyday. At one time, Hanaski was bullied by Atem, whom he never considered _a bully_, and now are close friends. His best friend is Yugi, who is the spirit living inside Atem. Hanaski has known about this since watching Yugi play a shadow game against Trudge. Hanaski and Yugi do _almost everything_ together and Hanaski considers Yugi his _first_ best friend, seeing that he never had _any_ friends before meeting Yugi. Though, building a friendship with Yugi and Atem, Hanaski is _very close_ with Atem's other friends. Tea is Hanaski's childhood friend, but only went as far as _close friends_. Hanaski's father works in America and would come by to visit and bring out _Zombire_ comic books and other _Zombire_ stuff. His bedroom was once filled with _Zombire_ decorations, but took them down after Atem teased Hanaski for the room looking _"nerdy."_ Hanaski wants to be a hero like Yugi, but excepts that _he is_ a hero just by being a friend. When trouble comes, Hanaski is willing to do whatever it takes to protect and help his friends.

Tristan Taylor: A close friend of Atem's and Joey's since middle school. It's revealed that Tristan lives in a bad environment. After Atem solved the puzzle, Tristan was aware of Atem's _change in personality_, but never bothered with it. He was continually unaware of the magic within Atem, and about Yugi, until he was told while driving his friends from Kaiba Land to the hospital. It took some convincing, but Tristan believes and _accepts_ Yugi as his close friend. He's also close friends with Ryan, who holds a spirit inside him, much like Atem, but this spirit will occasionally be controlled by another evil spirit.

Seto Kaiba: President of Kaiba Corporation adopted by Gozoburro Kaiba when him and Mokuba were orphans. He gained control after Gozoburro committed suicide. He believes that _friendships_ only lead to developing feelings, which will only interfere when running a company. Despite this belief, Seto admits that he has developed a _friendship_ bond toward Atem to the point where he visits _almost everyday_ at the mansion. Seto is also _very_ close with Mokuba and is willing to protect him with his life to the point of losing his pride. It is shown that Seto has a spiritual connection with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, whom he calls_ "Kisara."_ Seto considers Atem's friends annoying pests, probably because they're always against him. Because Seto and Atem have had tournaments that lead to someone getting killed or _almost_ getting killed, Seto plans on hosting a tournament, along with Atem, for them to _settle the score_ once and for all. He vows that until they settle their score, he will _never_ retrieve the last piece of the puzzle to his heart, which lies in Atem. It is uncertain when this Battle City Tournament will happen and where.

Ryan Bakura: The carrier of the millennium ring and holds a spirit, much like Atem. He holds a close relationship with Ryou, as much as Atem's relationship is with Yugi. Ryan and Atem are revealed to have a _very close_ relationship and are free reveal curtain things to each other, since they understand their relationship to their _body roommates._ He is known as _the bad boy_ type who attracts many girls. It is revealed that Ryan was once a con artist working at a casino in England. When meeting Ryou, Ryan was given a true heart and shown love. Though, this fact was before Ryan realized that Ryou was controlled by an evil spirit inside him. This was revealed when Ryan bought _Monster World_, which the evil spirit took advantage of with possessing Ryou and turning their friends into avatar dolls, they were comatose until Yami Ryou played against Yugi and his friends _and beaten_. Ryan had left the ring off, afraid of risking his friends' lives. When Pegasus and Yugi were dueling in the shadow realm and Pegasus kept reading Yugi's mind, Ryan put on the ring to save his friend. Now, he can no longer _take off_ the ring, suspecting the evil spirit is behind this. He reveals to have curiosity over the _mysteries_ of the millennium items. He now knows that the millennium items hold an evil power, which Ryou suspects is the reason for him being possessed by an evil spirit. He also suspects this evil spirit might have alot to do with Pegasus' sudden death. Ryan hopes that Atem and Yugi will free him and his brother Ryou like last time.

Ryou: A spirit who lives inside Ryan. He is timid, shy, and childlike. Aside from the memories with Ryan, Ryou has no memories above ten years old after discovering his hometown was destroyed by the evil inside the millennium items. The darkness had possessed Ryou ever since. Like Yugi, Ryou loves cuddling and physical affections with Ryan. When Ryan played it safe by not wearing the millennium ring, Ryou felt slight envy toward Yugi for being free and spending time with his friends. Ryou can now do that, but with the heavy price of a chance that the darkness will possess him again. It's suspected that it has already done that and murdered Pegasus, stealing the millennium eye. Despite Ryou's fear of losing his friends, he trusts Atem and Yugi to free him and Ryan once again if that ever happens again.

Tea Garner: Once a long-time enemy with Atem, now considers him a _very_ close friend. Tea and Yugi are currently in love and have been dating for over a year, though it isn't revealed when they came to grips with their current feelings. Tea came to know about Yugi after he played a shadow game with a criminal on death row and found him pinned on the wall by an angry Atem, who was invisible to Tea's eyes. Though Yugi, Tea has come close with all of his other friends, including Ryan. The only friend Tea still _does not_ get along with is Seto Kaiba. It is hard for Tea to hang out with Yugi, since it can be easily mistaken for Tea dating Atem and not Yugi. Atem reveals that he accepts and is glad for Tea dating Yugi, which is expected that he will no longer limit Tea from Yugi. Though, it's still unknown how Yugi and Atem can date _two different girls_ while being in the same body. Tea's father is aware of his daughter's feelings to Yugi, but mistakes them for Atem.

Serenity Wheeler: A childhood lover of Atem's and now are currently dating. Serenity had been in the hospital for most of her life due to her _sight problems_ she's been having since childhood. Like Yugi, Serenity shows alot of innocents and childlike features. It's revealed that Serenity was aware of Atem's business with a gang and became extremely depressed, because of it. Now that Atem won the money from Duelist Kingdom for the operation, Serenity will be able to see clearly again. At this current moment, she is unaware of Yugi's existence and the dark magic inside Atem's millennium puzzle.

Mokuba Kaiba: Younger brother of Seto Kaiba and vice president of Kaiba Corp. When Seto met Atem and started developing a relationship, Mokuba took this as _weakness_ and challenged Atem in a game of Capsule Monsters, cheating. After losing, Mokuba also developed a relationship with Atem and now considers him like a _second older brother_, since Atem had been visiting and babysitting Mokuba through his nightmare issues while Seto was comatose. Mokuba considers Atem more like family than Seto does. Even though Seto is awake, Mokuba shows the same affections toward Atem as an older brother.

Solomon Moto: Atem's grandfather and guardian, who was the founder of the millennium puzzle that was buried inside the tomb of a pharaoh _without a name_. His grandson, Atem Moto, has solved the puzzle and now is granted with dark powers and a spirit, who lives inside him. Solomon believes Atem was destined to solve the puzzle, but it is unclear if he knows about Yugi's history or not. He tries to help his grandson anyway he can, even when his soul was trapped inside Atem's iPhone. It is unrevealed of his reaction when he woke up from his coma.

Uka Moto: Atem's mother and guardian. Uka was unaware of Atem's dark powers and the spirit for a long time until Atem dueled a shadow game against Pegasus on a web cam. She's revealed to accept Yugi and promises to treat him like her own son. Though, Uka feels so much weight on her shoulders, seeing that she feels helpless and cannot protect Atem from the weight on his shoulders. She fears for losing her son after he left the house at 13 to join a gang that sold and did drugs and alcohol.

Mai Valentine: An older woman with large breasts and an attitude. She is revealed to _be and think_ slutty from time to time. Most of her life, Mai lived as a whore, who gambled for a living. She entered Duelist Kingdom to win the money for herself, since she never _had_ friends, and to find where she belonged. On the long run, Mai met and _befriended_ Atem and his friends, having Tea as her first girlfriend. Mai's life started changing when meeting Atem and showing her true colors. Mai has a crush on Joey Wheeler, and is revealed this by Atem when explaining the difference between lust and _true love_. Mai can now show more love and be less lustful. Mai is one of the few friends who knows Atem's secret of the dark powers_ and Yugi._

Mako Tsunami: A fisher duelist who loves the sea and sailing. Mako dreams of owning a boat and traveling only by the sea. Mako had only met Yugi, _not Atem_, and had a fantastic time dueling him. It is not revealed on _how_ Mako lost the duel on his way to Duelist Kingdom. It can be assumed that Mako never retrieved ten star chips or was eliminated by the Player Killers.

Yami Ryou: An evil spirit who takes control of Ryou's mind from time to time. This evil spirit came from the darkness of the millennium tablet where the millennium items were created and took control of Ryou at ten years old. He also sealed the souls of Ryan's and Ryou's friends into avatar dolls, pieces to _Monster World_. After losing, Yami Ryou lost control over Ryou. Though, now that Ryan is wearing the ring again, Yami Ryou is bound to reveal from time to time. It's hinted that he might've appeared to retrieve the millennium eye.


	2. New Game

**Now, we can start the story. This will be the hardest sequel to do and the most challenging. For those of you that've only seen the anime, there were four episodes that were two different events of the anime that were actually one scene. The fire at the warehouse and the duel with Duke Devlin were actually all happening in the same place. You'll see what I mean, but that's how this story is gonna start out, the duel with Duke Devlin. Review please!**

Solomon was sweeping the outside porch of the game shop. He'd been feeling under the weather ever since the new game shop opened. There were other things making Solomon feel upset. For one thing, he had woken up from his coma only a week ago and thought he saw his dead wife, Roxan Moto. Luckily, Atem had returned home from Duelist Kingdom and ready to start his new day.

Uka seemed to be taking the news with Yugi's existence very well. Solomon figured that his daughter-in-law had time to recover from the shocking news. After all, Uka had discovered his only a week and a half ago. It was no surprise that she was taking it better than Solomon would expect.

Tea happened to have walked right to the game shop, which made Solomon a bit more happy in his mood.

"Good morning, Mr. Moto," Tea greeted happily.

"Good morning, Tea. What brings you here?" Solomon asked.

"I'm just here to drop Yugi off to school," Tea replied.

_"Ah,"_ Solomon nodded before he turned his head and called. "HEY YUGI! TEA'S HERE!"

Now that Uka had learned Yugi's existence, it was normal to call Atem or Yugi, instead of just _Atem_ all the time. It was _only_ in public places that everyone had to call Yugi _Atem_. The only exception was Hanaski's family, who only knew Atem as _Yugi_.

Inside the Game Shop in Atem's room. Atem was getting dressed and ready for school. He replied to Solomon's call, "Yugi's coming!"

Atem was adjusting his chain that connected to the puzzle instead of a lace rope. It was more convenient since the rope was giving his neck rope burns and he anyways wore chains. Atem also decided to change his style to fit his and Yugi's _taste_. It was something that both of them agreed to wear, so Yugi didn't have to feel uncomfortable. At the same time, it was also of Atem's taste.

Atem now wore a white long sleeved shirt under a black muscle shirt with a skull in the middle of it. Other than the shirt, was the school uniform pants and coat, since Atem was going to school anyways. When _not_ going to school, he'd wear black jeans, a chain belt wrapped around his hip area diagonal, and combat boots. Another change was_ the jewelery_. Atem _now_ had a pair of loop earrings and two black bracelets with silver spikes.

Yugi appeared behind Atem while he was adjusting the chain around his neck. Yugi smiled brightly as Atem turned his head to face his brother.

"Is this okay?" Atem asked.

_"I like it,"_ Yugi replied before giving a smirk. _"Though personally, I'd get some arm cuffs."_

"Yugi, I already agreed with the earrings, are you willing to push it _more_?"

_"Maybe,"_ Yugi grinned as Atem rolled his eyes.

"You're just trying to show off to Tea."

_"I AM NOT... ok maybe _a little_."_

"_Riiiiiiight_," Atem replied before walking out the door.

As Atem walked out the door, Uka happened to run into her son, who was now in his _new look_. She gave a loud scream before jumping in the air. Atem's eyes widened, wondering what was wrong with his mother and why she screamed like that. Atem rose two eyebrows with question.

"You alright, Mom?" Atem asked.

"Sorry son, you _scared_ me," Uka replied as Atem chuckled with a slight smile.

"Sorry."

"By the way, when did you get your ears pierced?"

"Oh, Yugi and I agreed to start wearing something that made _both_ of us comfortable. We _finally_ found something," Atem replied before taking his uniform off to show his new top outfit. "The bling was his idea. I like the bracelets though and I'll get used to the earrings.

"Well, if it makes Yugi comfortable. I'm surprised he wanted _pierced ears_."

"I think it has alot to do with the fact earrings were popular in his day. It was rather that or _gages_."

_"Earrings."_

"Anyways, Tea's calling for Yugi," Atem said before leaving out of the Game Shop where Tea was waiting. Atem changed to Yugi and he ran happily to Tea with his uniform coat over his shoulder.

"Good morning Tea... Grandpa," Yugi greeted before taking Tea's hand and leaving on his way to school.

"You kids have fun!" Solomon greeted.

"Nice bling," Tea complimented while walking with Yugi on their way to school.

_"Huh?"_ Yugi questioned, before realizing what Tea was talking about. "Oh, thanks. I knew you'd like it."

"And _surprisingly_, my dad would probably approve of it," Tea smirked as Yugi laughed.

"Why would he disapprove men jewelry?"

"_Well..._ some parents are strict about that because of the gangs."

_"Ah,"_ Yugi understood, still walking with Tea. "Brother says Grandpa's been in a bad mood lately. There's a new game shop opening across the street called _the Dark Clown_. Creepy name for my taste, but they have a new game called Dungeon Dice Monsters. It's based off of Duel Monsters, but you use dice and stuff."

"Sounds awesome. We should _totally_ get that game."

"Yeah, that's what brother says. I think he should wait until Grandpa starts feeling a little more comfortable, but you know brother."

Tea laughed while rolling her eyes. Atem was always the type who would always go out for _any game_, even if the game shop was in rivalry with Solomon's game shop. That was his personality: _once a rebel always a rebel._ Even Tea had to admit that this _rebellion personality_ was probably the reason Atem could be a jerk sometimes. Though, Atem still held a good heart.

"So, when does Atem want to shop at the Dark Clown?" Tea asked.

"After school," Yugi replied.

"Okay. I can see if Hanaski will like to come."

"Sweet!"

Yugi and Tea finally made it to Domino High before Yugi changed to Atem. Atem quickly organized his locker, and then entered into his Homeroom. It took Seto a while to finally make it to his Homeroom with Atem. Everyone stared at Seto dumbfoundedly since he had not been in school since last school year. Surprisingly, Seto never was held back, since he turned in all his homework during the last week.

Seto sat behind Atem before he turned his desk and they started playing UNO. Everyone started gathering around to see the outcome of the game. This was the only thing that kept the class from giving _stares of horror_ at Seto. Everyone had missed seeing the the game matches of Seto and Atem. When they played, they played hard at _any_ game. It was like Mortal Combat almost.

A curtain student entered the classroom with a devilish smile. He cocked his eyebrows, seeing a gathering of students around a curtain area. This student was curious, so he pushed himself through the crowd and saw Seto and Atem going at each other in a game of UNO.

"Now you have to pick two cards," Atem smirked, placing a blue draw two cards.

Seto drew two more cards, then placed down a blue 4. Atem placed down a blue 7. Seto placed down a blue 4. Atem placed down a red 4.

"C'mon Atem! Kick his flippin' ass!" Joey cheered.

"Bad mistake on your part," Seto smirked before placing down a red draw two cards. Atem glared, drawing two cards from the deck.

"Shit," Tristan responded.

"C'mon Atem, you've only got four cards!" Joey cheered, waiting impatiently.

"Oh, I got _something_," Atem smirked as he placed down a Wild draw 4 cards.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Seto yelled while slamming his fist on the desk.

Everybody that gathered around started laughing aloud. Seto drew four more cards while Atem tried hard to stop laughing and waiting for Seto's next move. Seto put down a green 9. Atem placed a green 1. Seto placed a green 3. Atem placed a blue 3.

"UNO BITCH!" Atem shouted aloud.

_"Shit!"_ Seto responded as Atem chuckled through his smirk. Seto placed down a blue 4. "I hope you got a match."

_"Actually..."_ Atem smirked before placing a blue 9. "I win!"

"Shit!"

"Hey, nobody can beat the King of Games," Joey smirked as Seto gave him one.

"Says to the guy who got disqualified," Seto smirked as Joey's head turned boiling hot.

"WHY YOU SON OF A..." Joey shouted in anger as Hanaski and Tristan held Joey back from attacking Seto.

"Joey, calm down!" Hanaski warned Joey.

"Yeah, you know we can't fight in school!" Tristan mentioned.

Suddenly, everyone heard a ring tone among the crowd. They all stared at the new student with long black hair, green eyes, and clothing that made him look like he was from the ghettos. His cheeks turned bright red. Atem showed a smirk and decided to use this as an advantage.

_"I'm bringing sexy baaaaack. Them boys don't know how to act. I think you're special..."_ Atem sang to the ring tone as everyone started gawking up in laughter. The new student blushed a darker red and his fists started shaking.

"You think that's funny huh?" the new student asked rhetorically while checking his phone for a text message.

"C'mon, I was just playing around," Atem replied while chuckling. He put out his hand. "What cha name?"

"Duke Devlin. My father owns the Dark Clown game shop," Duke bragged with a slight smirk.

"_You're kidding!_ I heard about the new Dungeon Dice Monsters game they're selling. I after school, I'm going to go to the game shop and buy it."

"I don't know about that," Duke smirked with folded arms. "It depends on if you have thirty bucks."

_"Funny,"_ Atem replied with a sly smirk.

"Do you play games?" One girl asked Duke lovingly.

"Actually, I know a couple. I'll show you," Duke smirked before sitting on a desk with some dice and a cup that you'd find in a Yahtzee game. He placed the dice in two rows before sliding them inside the cup, shaking it, and removing the cup to show all the dice straight up.

_"Daaaaaamn,"_ Atem responded before letting out a whistle. "You're almost as good at con tricks at Ryan, _and that's saying something_."

_"You're hilarious,"_ Ryan said sarcastically.

"Whatev. He's just showing off!" Joey glared grumpily.

"You're just jealous!" One girl shouted.

"Yeah, Dukey is _so_ smexy," another girl flirted with googly eyes.

"Which is why he has _Sexy Back_ as his ring tone," Atem smirked as Duke shot him a glare.

"_Soooo_, can you show us another trick," One girl asked as Duke showed a sly smirk.

"Sure, just watch and learn," Duke agreed as he covered all the dice, after being knocked down, and then stacked them with one number in one tight row on each side.

_"Oooooooo,"_ the girls responded.

"Show off!" Joey spat.

"Joey, you can't just hate someone just because you're _jealous_," Atem said grimly.

"I'm not jealous! What does he have that I don't have?" Joey asked in an angry tone.

"You mean aside from the fangirls?" Ryan mentioned.

"And the pretty hair?" Tristan mentioned.

"And those _gorgeous_ green eyes?" Atem mentioned as well.

"And don't forget my sweet ass," Duke smirked before him and Atem gave high fives.

"_Whatever!_ Just because he's the hottest guy in class, doesn't mean I'm _jealous_!" Joey glared untruthfully.

"I bet you ten bucks he'd make it to the top five," Atem smirked.

"Yeah right!" Tristan disagreed. "You wanna bet?"

"Deal," Atem agreed before digging in his backpack and found several pieces of paper. "Anyone else wanna place _sexy guy_ bets?"

All the boys gathered around to make bets on who would make it to the top five or who which guy would be more _sexy_. There were even bets on who would make it to _number one_. Most chose Duke Devlin to be number one. Duke never bothered placing a bet, because he knew too good and well that placing _bets_ with Atem would probably have him lose his allowance. Duke didn't know why, but he started liking Atem.

After placing all the bets, Atem made a board with all the names of the guys and a place to write tallies. On the top of the board wrote_ "Which Guy is More Hot?"_ Atem smirked devilishly while placing the board on the wall of the school hallway. Duke happened to walk by and gazed on the board where _anyone_, most likely girls, would tally on which guy was the _hottest guy in school_. He knew this was done because of all the bets Atem placed and it was such a devious plan.

"I must say, you're such an ass," Duke said.

"Thank you, and you're an ass yourself," Atem replied with his devilish smirk.

"I'll tell you what. I'll give you a 20% discount. I'm interested to see how you do with my new game I created," Duke promised after placing his left hand on Atem's right shoulder.

"You _created_ that game?"

"Why do you think my shop is the only one that _sells it_? I tried to have Pegasus make it nation wide, but... I heard he _passed away_."

"I'm so sorry," Atem apologized before letting out a sigh. "It was kind of a shock to all of us after the final duel." A smile appeared on his lips. "At least his final moment was not so bad."

"What do you mean? Do you _know him_ or something?"

"I was in the final four... _actually_ I dueled against him in Duelist Kingdom," Atem explained as Duke's eyes widened in shock. "I had a great time with him. It was a challenge, but a fun duel."

"You're... You're Atem Moto _aren't you?_"

"Yep. I guess I should've introduced myself," Atem blushed as the boys chuckled.

"Guess so. I guess I'll see ya soon, I... _have to get to class_," Duke said with sweat on his face.

"Bye."

Duke walked on his way to his next class. He kept his eyes on Atem thinking, _'_that's_ Atem Moto? Man, I didn't think we'd be in the same class. It's a good thing my dad wasn't here or he'd squash me like a bug.'_ After that, Duke walked back in the hallway to his next class. There seemed to be _something_ bothering Duke, though Atem brushed it off. After all, Duke seemed like a cool guy and he was probably shocked to find out that Atem was the one who defeated Pegasus.

At lunch, Atem got his lunch, then noticed Joey about to play a game with Duke. He showed a smirk across his lips, then sat by his blond friend. Something told Atem that this game was going to be like a con artist trick.

"Hey guys! What cha guys doing?" Atem asked.

"Blondie challenged me to a game and made a bet. If I can remove the dice without touching the cup, I win," Duke explained. "The loser gets to do whatever the winner says."

"I hope you're not planning on making Joey wear a pink dress, not that _I_ wouldn't be _tempted_," Atem said with a slight chuckle.

"Oh, _very funny_," Joey replied grimly.

"_Tempting_, I'll think about it," Duke smirked before staring at Joey's direction. He made a fist. "The dice is in my hand."

"WHAT?"

"If you don't believe me, see for yourself."

Joey removed the cup, seeing the one dice inside the cup, before Duke snatched the dice with a smirk up his lips and Atem gawked up laughing. Joey's head started boiling red hot.

"Looks like I win," Duke smirked.

"Nice, pretty boy," Atem smirked before turning to Joey. "Guess he got cha good."

"THAT WAS _CHEATING_!" Joey yelled.

"Now _you_ have to do what I say for a whole day of school," Duke said.

"You can have him start by massaging my feet," Atem suggested before Joey elbowed his friend. _"OUCH!"_

"YOU'RE SUCH AN ASS, ATEM!" Joey yelled as Atem laughed while rolling his eyes. "I DEMAND A REMATCH!"

"Ok, but if I win again, you have to be my dog for a day," Duke replied.

"Can I share the ownership?" Atem asked before Joey punched his friend on the arm. "_YE-OUCH!_ GEEZ!"

"This time we'll use cards," Duke said before getting a regular deck of cards. He showed four ace cards. "I've prepared four aces." He then shuffled them and placed them on the table face-down. "In each card, there are four suits: diamonds, clubs, spades, and hearts. We group the hearts and diamonds as red, and spades and clubs as black. From these four, you pick two cards. If you pick black and black or red and red, you win."

Joey concintrated on the cards as Atem showed a smirk. Joey furrowed his eyebrows, knowing that the chances were 50/50. The blond then showed a smirk and picked the two middle cards and flipped them over. There, laid an ace of hearts and an ace of clubs. Joey gasped in shock as Atem showed a smirk, while Duke showed a bigger smirk.

"Wanna play again?" Duke asked temptingly.

"FINE!" Joey agreed as Duke shuffled the four cards again and Joey picked the first and the third card. He flipped them and saw an ace of clubs and an ace of diamonds. "DAMN IT!"

"It's _your_ fault for agreeing to _a bar bet_," Atem smirked while rolling his eyes.

_"Bar bet?"_

"I didn't think you'd get it," Duke smirked.

"What's a _bar bet_?" Joey asked.

"A bar bet is set up by gamblers who, as they say, _'never lose.'_ Whether it's the _cup and dice_ or cards like what you were playing. The cards you were playing, for instance, seemed to have a_ 50/50 chance_, but the trick is flipping _two cards_ at the same time. Think of it as picking up one card at a time. After picking up one card, the chances of picking the same color are only _one out of three_. Another way to put it is by doing the math," Atem explained before grabbing a piece of paper. He wrote: _red, red, black, black_. "Now, how many combinations can you find in a match?"

"Two?" Joey replied with cocked eyebrows.

"Now how many with red and black?"

_"DAMN!"_ Joey replied, realizing the trick he was played.

"Though, there _is_ a way to make this game fair," Atem smirked before digging through the cards and pulling out a joker. "Now, we'll add a joker to this. Each of us pick a card and whoever picks up two of the same color wins. Whoever picks a joker loses. If both of us pick up the same color, it's a draw."

"Agreed," Duke agreed with a smirk before shuffling the cards and placing them on the table.

Atem picked up the first card, revealing it to be hearts. Duke picked up the next card, which was a spade. Atem picked up the next card, which was a club. Duke picked his last card, then his eyes bulged wide open.

_"Damn!"_ Duke responded, showing his joker. "And again?"

"Again," Atem agreed, letting Duke go first.

They picked up their cards and revealed as Atem having an ace and club, while Duke had a joker and diamonds. Joey's eyebrows rose in curiosity.

"When placing the joker, I made the game more _fair_. Without the joker, there's only a draw. Drawing a joker is only one out of five. The only thing determining a loser is _the joker_," Atem explained.

"You're smart, punk ass," Duke said before shuffling the cards back into the deck.

"You're smart too, Duke. I only have found two guys that I'm comfortable being an ass to. If you want to, you can come over to my place and maybe I can have your game sold in no time," Atem promised.

"That'd be _spectacular_," Duke said with an exciting face before remembering about _his father_. "_Um_... I can mail you guys the packages?"

_"Something wrong?"_

"It's... _nothing_. It's my dad, he... this is gonna be _extremely awkward_ and I have _nothing_ to do with it, but... my dad is kinda in _rivalry_ with..."

"Don't worry about it," Atem said, rolling his eyes. "My grandpa's the same way, but that ain't keeping me from buying your game. He doesn't have to know the games are _from your store_ right? Just like your dad doesn't have to know you're _'mailing'_ the stuff to the game shop. Besides, it'll keep the game shops from running out of business and be on equal terms."

"I suppose you're right," Duke decided with a quaint smile. He got out his phone and sent an email to the company that sold his package. "I'll send it to your game shop. I know the address."

"Sweet, and you bet we'll make sure your game gets sold," Atem promised with a wink. "And I'll even make sure you get your monthly check, which makes _my job_ easier. We make a great team."

The two friends gave a high five as Joey sat on the table with a deep sigh. He had to admit, Duke was an ass, but he was also a _great friend_ for Atem. Atem seemed to be the type who would get along better with assholes. Joey showed a small smile, despite the fact he had to be Duke's slave for the whole school day. _At least it wasn't for a week._ When the friends heard about what happened to Joey, they started teasing him about it. Tea and Hanaski were pitying Joey and Tea started arguing with Duke about his _bar bet_.

Atem and Duke had at least three classes together and used those times to talk and chat. Duke had forgotten about his _father's reaction_ to befriending Atem and just went about like there was nothing that would ever get in the way. He always enjoyed showing off to the girls in his schools and make some asshole friends. All of them would never be in Duke's father's _favor_, but Duke favored and _cherished_ his friends. They'd always be with him through thick and thin.

Despite Duke's school life being excellent, home was never the most _favorable_. Duke had pressure from his _disfigured father_, who wore a mask to cover his disfigured face. Duke remembered the story when his father challenged Solomon Moto to a shadow game to retrieve the puzzle. During the time, Duke's father, Dr. Cymor Devlin had discovered about the power of the millennium puzzle. He set his goal to retrieve the power of the shadow games, but was beaten to it by Solomon Moto. Because of Dr. Devlin's _greed for power_, he challenged Solomon to a shadow game. He lost and was given a penalty game that disfigured his face. Ever since then, Dr. Devlin, Duke's father, was shunned and never showed his face to the public again, _vowing for revenge_.

Duke believed in those powers all his life and never told _anyone_ about it, since it was not commonly known to the public. The greed for power drove Dr. Devlin to count on Duke to one day be granted this _power_. He felt more pressure to think that he would be _forced_ to be Atem's enemy. This was reminded, when leaving the school building, as soon as Atem opened his uniform jacket where the millennium puzzle was seen dangling about his neck, due to the hot weather.

Duke watched the millennium puzzle jiggle on the chain. He knew that puzzle was what his father wanted _him_ to have. Duke felt his abdomen cramping from the pressure and _the guilt_.

"Something wrong, Duke?" Atem asked.

"_Nothing to worry about._ Just feeling a little under the weather. At least school's over," Duke replied with a side joke. "_Uh_... you were wanting to buy the game right?"

"Yeah," Atem replied.

"Suggestion, _hide your puzzle_," Duke warned as Atem cocked his eyebrows.

"Why?"

"My father is the real owner of the Dark Clown and he... _has issues._ Trust me, it's probably better that you hid your puzzle... maybe even your _identity_."

"Duke, is there something you wanna tell me?"

"..."

Atem stared at his friend longingly. There was clearly something Duke was refusing to tell him. _Could it have anything to do with his father?_ Atem knew this feeling of _keeping things from everybody_, it was the sign of abuse of any kind. He nodded and placed a hand on Duke's shoulder with a reassuring smile.

"I'll take your suggestions. Next time I go to the shop, you won't even recognize me," Atem promised with a wink. Duke smiled and gave a reassuring nod before they went their separate ways.

While Atem walked on his way to the Game Shop, Yugi happened to appear beside his brother. Both of them shared the emotion of worry for Duke. He seemed to be keeping alot to himself and wasn't too happy about going back home.

_"I'm worried about Duke. Do you think him acting weird has anything to do with his father?"_ Yugi asked.

"_Possibly._ I wish there was something I could do," Atem replied before letting out a sigh. "He also mentioned for me to _hide the puzzle_. Why would he want me to do that? Unless..."

_"He knows about _me_."_

"Probably."

_"It seems like he wants to protect me from something, but what?"_

"Who knows? Still, if Duke's in trouble, we have to help him. We'll visit him next time and talk to him."

_"You think it could work?"_

"Abused people take a while to start talking. They will go as far as to never even say _anything _to their friends. We'll have to give Duke some time to think, but if he doesn't start talking, he might cause harm to himself."

_"That's true."_

"I've been on that road, Yugi. In order to get me talking, Joey had to get through my thick head, even to the point of _force_. If that's what we'll have to do, then _that's_ what's gonna happen."

_"You think we can do it?"_

"Yugi, I _know_ we can," Atem promised before entering his grandfather's game shop. His grandpa was still depressed about the new game shop from across the street. _'First, we'll have to wear a disguise and take Duke's suggestion. Something tells me he's trying to protect us from _something_.'_


	3. Dungeon Crisis

**This is when things get really interesting and Dr. Devlin becomes more of an ass. Since this is the only part of the story where Yugi wears a different outfit, I decided to declare a reason. As for the duel with Duke, it will have a similar, but different atmosphere than the manga, like the last chapter. I hope you like it. Review please!**

Atem waited in line to buy the new game _Dungeon Dice Monsters_. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt with a gray-blue vest over top of it and a pair of black jeans. There was also a hat to cover the spiky hair, since he was in disguise. Atem knew Duke was worried of what would happen if his father found out _Atem's identity_. Atem had to find a way to talk to Duke and see what was going through his head.

The other suggestion Duke told Atem to do was to _hide the millennium puzzle_. This told him two things: one, Duke knew about the dark powers of the millennium puzzle, and two, _someone_ was after it. _Was it Duke's father?_ If it was, how would he _know_ about the puzzle? These questions bottled up in Atem's mind and until they were answered, Atem hid the millennium puzzle in his backpack.

Atem's friends joined along to buy Dragon Dice Monsters as well. The only person who wasn't in the pack, was Joey. He was late, _as usual._

"Man, what's taking that guy so long?" Tristan complained.

"You know Joey," Atem smirked before looking at his watch. "Besides, it won't open for another thirty minutes."

"Wow, everyone is so anxious to get the game," Hanaski said in amazement.

"_You can say that again._ It happens at our Game Shop when we get a new game," Atem replied before a sigh escaped his mouth, and then a smirk appeared on his lips. "Unfortunately, the Dark Clown game shop took _all_ our costumers."

_"HEEEEEEY!"_ Joey cried, running to his friends, who were waiting in line. As soon as he made it, he huffed and puffed from all the running. "Sorry I'm late."

_"As usual,"_ Atem replied while rolling my eyes.

"Go to the back of the line like the rest of us!" Tea teased.

"_C'mon!_ I said I was _sorry_!" Joey whined while everyone else laughed. "Besides, Dungeon Dice Monsters is the most popular game around. If I could buy some, I could sell it on Ebay for a high price."

"You mean like what you said I should do with my puzzle. I requote _'Man, I'd be selling this thing on Ebay,'_" Atem reminded Joey in his own voice and accent.

"Even though a part of me is glad you didn't sell it, I still say I would've sold it."

"Joey, you're such an ass," Tea glared.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Joey smirked teasingly.

"So, are you hiding your hair to keep Gramps from finding out you're buying a game from Dark Clown, which is taking away _all_ his costumers?" Tristan asked with a devilish smirk, noticing the hat and outfit.

_"Whatever,"_ Atem glared with his arms crossed. "Grandpa has been complaining about this stupid game store since it first appeared. Just because this place has his _sworn enemy_, doesn't mean I have to be a part of it. I mean what is this, Romeo and Juliet?"

"Atem, YOU BACKSTABBER!" Solomon shouted, which made everyone besides Atem jump.

_"You think I'm against you just because I'm buying a f***ing game?"_ Atem asked saracastically while rolling his eyes. "Grandpa, it's just Dungeon Dice Monsters and I already made a deal with the guy, who made the game, to send a package to your place. By next week, we should be packing. Until then, I'm buying the game and speaking of buying games, why are _you_ here?"

_"Uh..."_

"Buying Dungeon Dice Monsters."

"Don't tell anyone and I promise to shut up," Solomon whispered to Atem.

"Deal," Atem replied while rolling his eyes. "As long as while I help run the Game Shop, I'm neutral when it comes to game store _rivalry_."

_"Fine."_

Thirty minutes later, the Black Clown finally opened. Everyone rushed in to buy the Dungeon Dice Monsters pack. Atem was dragged in, since being so short, he couldn't push himself through the crowd. While trying to find the pack of Dungeon Dice Monsters, Atem noticed some sort of _fat clown_ with a dark clown mask on his face. The first thing he was thinking was, _'I spy with my little eyes, something beginning with gay clown,'_ but that was before this _"gay clown"_ grabbed Atem by the back of his vest and was dragged though a random door inside the store.

Atem put up quite a fight, knowing he was being kidnapped _or something._

"Get your f***ing fingers off me you f***ing pedophile!" Atem yelled.

"Dad, what the f*** are you doing?" Duke asked in anger, seeing his friend being dragged in like a ragged doll.

"_This_ is your dad? Man, and here I thought Joey's dad had issues," Atem glared with insult before being thrown to the ground.

"Shut the f*** up, kid!" Dr. Devlin shouted before snatching Atem's backpack and unzipping it, retrieving the millennium puzzle.

"HEY! GIVE THAT BACK, YOU F***ING CLOWN!" Atem yelled, running up and tackling Dr. Devlin to gain the puzzle back. He responded by socking Atem in the face, knocking him to the floor.

"If you want your _precious puzzle_ back, you're gonna have to play against my son and win in Dungeon Dice Monsters."

"Dad, I doubt if he knows how to play, let alone _the rules_," Duke reminded, hoping to figure out some excuse to get his friend out of this situation.

"Then you can tell him. He's the_ King of Games_, I'm sure he can learn the technique," Dr. Devlin replied as Duke stared at his friend longingly.

"I accept and if I win, you not only give me back my puzzle, but you can stop using Duke to f*** around with me!" Atem glared as Dr. Devlin smirked.

"Very well. Duke, get the game ready."

_"Yes father,"_ Duke muttered in defeat. Him and Atem walked over to the game room where a game board of Dungeon Dice Monsters was set up. Duke faced his friend with defeat written on his face. "I _never_ wanted this to happen, I'm so sorry. That's why I wanted you to _hide_ yourself."

"Duke, what the hell is going on? I get the feeling your father and my grandfather might be more acquainted than just being _rivals_," Atem glared as Duke sighed deeply and looked up at his friend with furrowed eyebrows.

"My father knows about your puzzle."

"_Gee really?_ I thought he stole it to sell it on Ebay," Atem glared with sarcasm.

_"I'm not done yet!"_ Duke glared before continuing. "Anyways, it all started with your grandpa found the puzzle. My father researched the puzzle and discovered its powers and such. He's also familiar with the shadow games and the supernatural, which is why he challenged your grandfather for the puzzle."

"And he lost?"

"And was given a Penalty Game. His face aged and became hideous, so much that he has to cover his face with a mask."

"So he chooses to look like a gay clown? Personally, I prefer looking like I was 100 than look like some ridiculous gay clown from the band Kiss."

"SHUT THE F*** UP, KID!" Dr. Devlin shouted as Atem glared at the Dad. "Are you boys ready?"

"As ready as anything," Duke replied before turning his head to Atem. "Good luck."

Atem and Duke walked up to the Dungeon Dice board, sitting across from each other. Atem noticed a little small area to place a set of dice or something. His eyebrows narrowed and looked up at Duke, who was preparing himself for the game. He seemed hesitant, not that Atem could blame him. Yugi stood next to the game board with a hint of hope as Atem nodded at his brother.

Duke looked at Atem from across the board, saying, "here are the rules: you start out with twelve prepared dice. I already have over 100 dice for you to choose from _in here_," Duke said, showing the little case with over _a hundred_ dice monsters. Atem chose his dice, then placed them in the dice slot. "Each dice monster has a different level and ability. Also, the color of the die depends on what type of monster it is, whether it's dragon, magician, undead, beast, or warrior. The black die is _a special case_, it can also help your monsters transport from one area to another area. Making it easier to go to your opponent's area."

_"Nice,"_ Atem smirked, feeling interested in playing.

"The compartment where you put your dice will randomly choose a line of dice and we must choose the first three to roll. Be careful, the higher the monster level is, the more difficult it will be to summon the monster."

"How do you summon a monster?"

"You must have two creased stars to summon a monster. The arrows are your moving crests, the circles with the Jewish star in the middle are magic crests, the circles with the black and white pattern are trap crests, the shield are defenses, and the swords crossing are attack crests. We also have a Dungeon Master, he decides if we win or lose."

On the game board, two pieces appeared. One in front of Atem's field and another in front of Duke's field. There appeared three red hearts in the middle of each Dungeon Master. Atem's Dungeon Master looked to have the heart-shaped body with small arms, legs, and head with a wizard's hat. Duke's Dungeon Master looked like a weird drum and a head that could be mistaken for the Dark Clown Mask.

Atem stared bug-eyed at Duke's Dungeon Master, trying to hold back a laugh. Duke furrowed his eyebrows with curiosity.

"Do _gay clowns_ run in the family?" Atem asked teasingly.

"I didn't chose this," Duke glared with blushing cheeks. "So, you get the game?"

"Got it," Atem winked before Duke took three dice in his hand.

"I'll go first, so you can get the hang of this," Duke offered before throwing the dice across the board. Two crests were summoning monsters while the last one was attacking crest. "Since I have two summoning crests, I can use one of them to summon a monster. I choose this Dragon die." Atem watched as Duke took the red die and placed it on the board. The die unfolded itself and a monster appeared from the inside. "And I summon Wizard Dragon."

"Duke question: is this game like Duel Monsters?"

"Yeah, I based this game off of Duel Monsters. The only difference is that there's dice and attacking is a little difficult since you have to only move on the land here," Duke replied, pointing to the unfolded die on the board.

"I hope you don't get sued for copyright fraud like they do on YouTube."

"Why do you think I contacted Pegasus? I had to make sure I got his permission before _making_ the game."

Atem smirked, then threw his three dice on the board to make his next move. One die showed an attack crest, one showed a magic crest, and the last showed a moving crest. He pounded his fist on the board.

"DAMNIT!" Atem shouted.

"Guess you couldn't summon a monster," Duke smirked before a dark chuckle escaped his nostrils. "Probably because you rolled high leveled monster dice. Remember, the lower level the monster is, the more summoning crests will appear on the die." He got out three dice. "My turn again!" He threw the dice onto the board and rolled two summoning crests and a moving crest. "I summon another monster." Duke took one die and summoned another monster onto his field while increasing his pathway. "Now I have two monsters on the field and closer to your side. Speaking of closer, the moving crest makes it to where my monster can move one step per moving crest, so my monster moves one step." The dragon Duke just summoned moved one step.

"I'm next," Atem declared before rolling his dice. He rolled one summoning crest, an attack crest, and a moving crest. "DAMNIT!"

"Guess today's not the luck of the draw, or should I say _'luck of the roll,'_" Duke joked with a pun added.

"That's my boy! Beat this guy's..." Dr. Devlin cried out before...

"SHUT THE F*** UP!" Duke and Atem yelled together before continuing their duel.

"Mr. Devlin!" One of the employers working at the Dark Clown game store called. Dr. Devlin faced his employer.

"It's _Doctor_ Devlin," Dr. Devlin corrected.

"Uh right, _Doctor_ Devlin, Atem's friends are looking for him. What do you want me to do?"

"Tell them he's not here."

"Translation: _Dr. Clown wants to tell my friends to kiss his ass_," Atem said.

"No, translation: _Dad just wants to f*** with you_," Duke corrected with a dark smirk.

"One more outta you and you're grounded for a month!" Dr. Devlin rebuked.

"Duke, let _me_ do the trash talking," Atem suggested with an evil smirk.

"Whatever, let's continue," Duke smirked.

The employer did what his boss told him to and informed Atem's friends that they haven't seen the boy. Everyone was getting worried and wondered where Atem would be. Even Solomon was anxious to look for his grandson, despite the fact that Atem could easily take care of himself. Though, something told the old man that his grandson was in _serious_ trouble. Even Ryan could sense this.

"Damn! Where the hell could Atem be?" Joey complained.

"I hope he's okay," Hanaski said worriedly.

"I'm sure he's fine. Probably just took off without informing us," Tea thought with a glare and arms crossed.

"But that's not like him," Joey disagreed.

"He's right," Hanaski agreed.

"Aw well, maybe he decided to visit with Duke Devlin or somethin'," Joey shrugged as Solomon froze with widened eyes.

"Wait, what is this _Duke's_ last name?" Solomon asked.

"Devlin, why?" Joey asked.

"Is he by chance related to _Cymor Devlin_?"

"Who's _Cymor Devlin_?" Hanaski asked.

"He was an archeologist, who used his job to not only discover ancient items, but gain power as well. He heard about my puzzle and forced me to play a shadow game with him to win the millennium puzzle. The effects were tremendous. His face was completely _disfigured_, since the game meant paying with your own _age_. After losing, Dr. Devlin was never heard from sense," Solomon explained. Everyone was amazed at this story.

"Serves him right," Joey thought before leaving out a shrug. "I'm sure there's a coincidence to why Duke's last name is the same as the psycho freak you challenged you to a shadow game."

"Maybe... _Maybe not_."

_"There's only one way to find out,"_ Ryou said, switching with his brother. He took out the millennium ring and the pointers pointed toward the game shop. "Looks like Atem's still in the shop."

"Which means he's in trouble!" Joey glared as he pushed himself passed the employer and searched through the game shop. "ATEM! DUDE, WHERE ARE YA!"

"Joey, wait for us!" Hanaski cried, catching up to his friend.

Joey, Hanaski, Tea, Solomon, and Ryou searched the game shop, but it was empty. They then entered through the _Employee Only_ entrance. All they saw was a Living Room with nobody inside. It was quiet, _too quiet._ Ryou was following the direction of his millennium item, leaving everyone else behind. Nobody even noticed their friend's disappearance.

Suddenly, smoke appeared all around the gang and they instantly fell asleep. Dr. Devlin appeared with a gas mask on. He prepared just in case Atem's friends were smart enough to know their friend was still inside _and kidnapped._ By the time they would awaken, the duel would've already been over. Little did the doctor know, Ryou had already made it out of the smoke and into a bathroom.

_"That son of a bitch!"_ Ryan cursed in his spirit form._ "Looks like we're stuck here until the smoke clears up."_

"I hope Atem's okay," Ryou whispered quietly, so Dr. Devlin wouldn't know he avoided the smoke.

_"He'll be fine. For right now, we'll have to wait in here for a while. When the smoke clears, we can beat the crap outta that clown who looks like a member of the band Kiss."_

"A band kissed you?"

_"No, you f*** moron! _Kiss_ is a name of a f***ing band who're more gay than Pegasus, _and that's saying something_."_

"Oh..."

Atem threw his three dice and rolled a magic crest and two moving crest. He shouted, "DAMN I SUCK!"

"Yes, _yes you do_," Duke smirked devilishly. "I guess when your puzzle is gone, you can't really play well. Rather that or you suck at new games."

"Duke, kiss my ass."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Duke replied before rolling three dice. He rolled two summoning crests and a trap crest. He placed a die on the field and summoned his monster Twin-Headed Griffin. "One more step and I can wipe out your Dungeon Master."

"You know, one thing I _never_ do is give up," Atem vowed. "Even if I'm a noobie at this game."

"And you are."

"Shut the f*** up, it's my turn," Atem snapped before rolling his dice. He rolled, this time, two summoning crests and a magic crest. "YES!"

"About time, I was thinking this game was getting _boring_ for a second," Duke sighed with a small smile. "And a level 4 too, not bad."

Atem took his die and placed it on the board, summoning Little Wizard Level 4. With excitement in his blood, Atem used his magic crest to destroy Duke's Twin-Headed Griffin. Duke smiled and gave a thumbs up, which really _irritated_ his father. After all, he was wanting his son to _destroy_ Solomon's grandson, not encourage him! What were they _friends_ or something?

Duke noticed his father giving him a rebuking look. He just shot daggers at his father before focusing on the field. Duke didn't care what his father was thinking, he was having fun, even if he was _forcefully playing against his friend_. Atem seemed to be having fun too. He only agreed to play, because even though he was in a tight situation, he wanted to still be there for Duke in his time of trouble, and also to get Yugi back.

"Don't forget though, my path has already reached your area and I already have two monsters, while you only have one," Duke mentioned.

"If this is like Duel Monsters, the winner isn't determined until my life points reaches 0... well, until the Dungeon Master is destroyed," Atem declared as Duke showed a smirk.

"My turn!" Duke cried as he threw his dice on the board and rolled two summoning crests and an moving crest. He took one die and placed it on the board, summoning his Grendaier onto his field. "Even though this is a low level monster, the trap crests make him _very_ powerful."

"Then there's no time to waste then, _is there?_" Atem asked sarcastically with his sly smile.

"No Sherlock."

Atem got out and rolled his dice on the board. He rolled two summoning crests and an attack crest. He cried, "NOW WE'RE TALKIN!" He placed on die on the board and summoned Crocozaurus on the field. It stood by Atem's Dungeon Master, protecting it.

"Looks like it's my turn again," Duke smirked before throwing his dice on the board. They landed on two trap crests and one summoning crests. Atem gasped, knowing that the trap crests only doubled the power of Duke's Grendaier.

_"Holy shit!"_

"You guessed it!" Duke replied as he activated Grendaier's ability to throw a bomb at a monster and destroy it. The bomb hit Crocozaurus and destroyed it. He started laughing mockingly. "Looks like this really isn't your _lucky day_."

"We'll see," Atem smirked as he rolled the dice once more and rolled a moving crest, a magic crest, and a summoning crest. "Geez! Don't I _ever_ get any good rolls?"  
>"You shoulda chosen your dice wisely."<p>

"Oh, shut up!"

Duke rolled his next three dice and got a moving crest and two summoning crests. He placed his die on the field and summoned his Girafoosu onto the field. Atem glared in frustration that he was losing, even though he was only a beginner.

"And my monster moves forward," Duke said as his Girafoosu moved forward on the path.

"That's it boy! Soon you'll be the new millennium puzzle possessor and inherit the dark powers you were destined to have!" Dr. Devlin cheered with that crazy look in his eyes.

_"DAAAAAD!"_ Duke shouted with a red head.

"Your dad really is _an ass_. He's wanting you to possess _powers_ that could kill a person in a millisecond?" Atem asked with a humorous face.

"He's been cramming it down my throat since day one," Duke glared with bitterness. "I mean, not that I don't _want_ power, but you were _chosen_ and there's _a person_ inside there. Besides, I'm not very good with _babysitting_ anyways."

"You'd also be burned to ashes if you tried to gain the power for yourself out of _greed_."

"Try telling that to my dad. I swear he _never_ listens to me!" Duke steamed while clutching his fists. "The only reason I'm even agreeing to duel this is so my dad can just_ leave me alone_!"

Atem furrowed his eyes, then threw his three dice on the board. They showed two summoning crests and a trap crest. He placed a die on the board, but decided on not summoning the monster. The die just stood there on the field and Atem sat back. Duke raised two eyebrows before throwing his three dice on the board. They showed two moving crests and an attack crest.

"Sweet!" Duke responded as he moved two creatures to Atem's Dungeon Master. Atem gasped as Duke used his attack crest for Lizard Dragon to attack the Dungeon Master. Atem's Dungeon Master now had only two hearts left. "One down, two to go."

"Not so fast! I summon a monster from the die I left on the field!" Atem declared as the die unfolded and out came out Iron Demon Gorugon. "And I'm sure you know of his _special ability_."

"Oh crap," Duke responded as Demon Gorugon transformed into a ball and rolled over Lizard Dragon and Grenadier, crushing it to bits.

"You want to know my reason for agreeing to play this damn game?" Atem asked as Duke furrowed his eyebrows in curiosity. "Because I won't let ANYONE have my puzzle! Not you and _especially_ not your son of a bitch father!" Duke felt astounded by this booming voice speaking like a protective parent. "Yugi's my brother, my other soul, my most _precious_ treasure. I would never forgive myself if anything was to happen to him."

"I understand," Duke said unemotionally. _"I just wish I could stop this whole mess."_


	4. The Link Destroyed

**Hey guys! Sorry I took so long to post this. I haven't even gotten to the plot yet and this one is one of my favorite parts of Battle City. The best part is yet to come. Also, be sure to vote on my latest poll. I'm trying to figure out which story you guys want me to do next. Review please!**

Atem never forgotten those words that he heard coming from Duke's mouth _'I just wish I could stop this whole mess.'_ Honestly, he wanted this to stop too. It wasn't that Atem wasn't having fun, but he never wanted to duel with Duke if it was out of his father's own revenge. Atem not only had to win, but he also had to find a way to help his friend somehow.

"Duke, you know your father will probably never leave you alone," Atem said as Duke furrowed his eyebrows. "You have to stand up to him!"

"You think I haven't tried?" Duke glared with folded arms.

_"Not really,"_ Atem smirked before showing his serious glare again. "All you've been doing was making excuses. If that were me, I'd tell that him to f*** off!"

"To my dad?"

"He's using you for his dirty little game. On top of it, he's also stealing. Honestly, I've heard of better fathers."

"Why you little..." Dr. Devlin glared before...

_"SHUT THE F*** UP!"_ The boys replied.

"Anyways, it's your turn," Duke said as Atem rolled his dice.

Atem rolled two summoning crests and an attack crest. He took a die and pressed it on the board, declaring, "I summon Duker Twin Swords and keep the attacking crest into my crest pool."

"Then it's my turn!" Duke declared before rolling his three dice. He rolled two summoning crests and an attacking crest. His Flame Armor Dragon was summoned onto the field. "I activate two moving crests and use my attacking crest against your Duker Twin Swords!"

"Then I use my two attacking crests to attack your dragon!" Atem smirked as his Duker Twin Swords attacked the dragon and it was wiped from the field. "Looks like your dragon is toast!"

"Yeah, but I got the feeling you'd be doing that. Look at your field," Duke replied, then pointing to the field. Atem gasped and noticed that Duke had set his dimension paths to block Atem's pathway and prevent Atem from placing anymore dimensions. "As you can see, playing Dungeon Dice Monsters takes more than rolling dice and placing monsters on the board."

"In other words, a player must also have dimension technique," Atem realize, knowing that his chances of summoning a monster were now very slim.

"And your number of monsters cannot compare to mine."

"But there's still hope, even if my chances are slim."

"A spartan! I think that's why we became friends."

Hearing this coming from his son's mouth, Dr. Devlin was becoming more annoyed and angry. He couldn't make his son and Atem enemies like he originally planned. Dr. Devlin gave his son a rebuking look, but was given a glare in return. Duke never let his father get in the way of his choice of friends and their bond of friendship.

Duke got his three dice and rolled them on the board. Atem noticed one of the die in Duke's hand was a black and could see hope in that black die. A smirk appeared on Atem's lips as he watched the dice roll on the board. Duke rolled two summoning crests and a magic crest. He placed the black die on the board and summoned out Dark Eye Stalker.

"And, as you know, the black die also is a portal. When there are two, I can transport my monster from one area to the other," Duke smirked as Atem showed a half smirk.

"Which means, you can transport your monsters from your area to mine," Atem said as Duke gave a nod. His friend showed a black die in his hand as well. "Which means _I_ can transport my monsters as well."

"Something told me you had one yourself," Duke smirked as he watched his friend roll three dice.

Atem rolled two summoning crests and an attacking crest. He took his black die and placed it on the last place with enough room for one monster. There, Dark Ninja was summoned onto the field.

"Dark Ninja transports into the enemy area, then attacks your Dark Eye Stalker!" Atem declared as Dark Ninja transported into Duke's area and attacked Dark Eye Stalker.

Atem looked at the field, knowing that his last room to summon a monster was taken. Now, the only way to win this game was to send his monsters to Duke's side by sending them through the wormhole. It was the only way to save Yugi, to save Duke from his father's dictation and obsession for revenge. That revenge was poisoning Dr. Devlin and harming his son without realizing it. Atem knew he had to save his friends and end this revenge charade once and for all.

Atem rolled again and got two moving crests and a magic crest, he declared, "now, I can move my Dark Ninja twice to your Dungeon Master!" Dark Ninja sped on the board in front of Duke's Dungeon Master as a gasp left Duke's mouth. "Now, I use my attack crest to attack your clown for a Dungeon Master!"

Dark Ninja slashed through the clown Dungeon Master and one of its heart's lights disappeared and left with two lighted hearts. Atem kept his eyebrows narrowed as Duke showed a huge smirk and rolled his three dice. He rolled three summoning crests.

"I rolled three summoning crests! That means that my monster is leveled up one," Duke explained before taking his black die and summoning God Ogre. "It's now level four, and use three magic crests to power up my God Ogre to 2000 points."

"Oh shit!" Atem gasped.

"_Oh shit_ is right!" Duke smirked victoriously. "God Ogre, destroy Dark Ninja!" God Ogre took out its mighty sword and slashed it through Dark Ninja. Duke laughed victoriously, then noticed something strange. Atem showed a deep smirk. That's when Duke saw it, Dark Ninja was _invisible_. "What the..."

"I used three magic crests to make Dark Ninja use camouflage," Atem smirked as Duke's eyes widened, but then smiled impressively.

"Looks like _somebody_ did their homework. If only you could be this impressive during school."

_"You're hilarious,"_ Atem replied sarcastically. "My turn!" He rolled his dice and got some attacking crests. "Dark Ninja attack!" Dark Ninja slashed right through the clown Dungeon Master, leaving only one lightened heart left. "One more and I win."

"_NO!_ NOT ON MY WATCH!" Dr. Devlin glared angrily, his fists shaking.

"Dad, I can beat Atem! _You_ stay out of this! You've already ruined my f***ing life as it is!" Duke shouted angrily.

"You do what I say and I told you not to lose to this..."

"I CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT! I'M SICK OF YOUR OBSESSION OF REVENGE! I'M SICK OF YOU F***ING WITH MY LIFE! AND I'M SICK OF YOU MAKING ENEMIES OUT OF MY FRIENDS!"

"_FRIENDS?_ ATEM IS A MOTO, HE'S YOUR ENEMY!"

"NO HE'S NOT AND HE NEVER WILL BE FATHER! GET OVER IT! I WANT TO PLAY, BUT NOT FOR YOUR F***ING REVENGE! I WANT TO PLAY TO HAVE A GOOD TIME, SO DO ME A FAVOR AND GET OUT OF MY F***ING LIFE!"

"I think it's already decided," Atem glared, his arms crossing. "Neither me or Duke can ever be enemies. He's my friend and he feels the same. We don't share any hatred in this game. If you want to have your stupid revenge, that's your f***ing business, but stop poisoning Duke's life with it! I won't let you hurt my friends!"

"Don't question me, kid!" Dr. Devlin snapped.

"Only if you leave Duke out of your _revenge_, maybe even me! Now, since your charade was all for nothing, how about you give me back my puzzle!"

"NO! My son should have the power of the puzzle!"

"You don't even know how powerful it is_ or what it does!_ That puzzle contains the soul of my brother and he's more precious than my own blood and soul! I can't let you have it!"

"Stop this Dad! You've done enough damage!" Duke glared in defense. "Give Atem's puzzle back! I don't want those damn powers anyways and more than that, I don't want that soul, living inside there, being harmed by your stupidity!"

The puzzle glowed with brilliance, at the same time, Yugi cried out Atem's name. He wanted to be with his brother and he wanted to be with Duke. The puzzle was reacting to the power of the unity of the three boys: _Yugi, Atem, and Duke._ Atem could feel it, the power from the puzzle effected by him and his friends wanting the puzzle away from Dr. Devlin's hands. Dr. Devlin jumped a little bit, but was willing to break the bond in order to get his revenge.

"Well, since the puzzle is so _connected_ to you, then I'll make sure you never use this power again," Dr. Devlin smirked with devilish eyes. He dug his nails into the cracks of the puzzle, but the light from the puzzle was glowing brighter.

"DAD _NO!_ DON'T DO IT!" Duke cried out, at the same time, Atem ran after for the millennium puzzle.

Dr. Devlin, so greedily, took one piece out. Atem was still running after his puzzle, watching Yugi disappear at the same time the piece of the puzzle slid out. Dr. Devlin then threw the puzzle onto the ground and stepped on it as the pieces shattered everywhere. Atem gasped as he watched Dr. Devlin crash the puzzle onto the ground like shattering a precious soul.

That's when Duke felt it, a soul being shattered into millions of pieces. It hit him like a bolder and he could feel the pain and anguish coming from Atem's heart as he slowly dropped to the ground and held the pieces in his hands. Atem's lips quivered and cradled the pieces in his hands. Duke felt hypnotized by the pieces on the ground and felt as if a piece of himself was inside those tiny pieces. He copied the same movements Atem made.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Ryan's spirit popped his head from the bathroom door, noticing the smoke finally cleared out. Ryan poked back in, noticing Ryou on the toilet, clutching onto his legs boredly. They had been inside this bathroom for what seemed like hours. In reality, it had only been at least thirty minutes or so. The smoke finally cleared.<p>

_"We can go now,"_ Ryan said as Ryou sighed, rolling his eyes.

"About time!" Ryou complained before opening the door and rushing through the hallway, following the pointers of the ring. "I'm so gonna give that jerk a piece of my mind when I get to him."

_"You took the words right out of my mouth."_

"I just hope Atem and Yugi are okay. I feel as though something horrible just happened."

_"Same here. Whoever is hurting our friends is our enemy now."_

* * *

><p>At the game, Atem was still holding the pieces in his hands. He noticed Duke feeling the same pain he was feeling. He had never met Yugi yet and he was already feeling a part of himself lost in another world. Dr. Devlin was too blinded by his revenge to notice the pain he brought to his son by breaking the puzzle. The friendship Duke felt with Atem linked to the millennium puzzle like all of his other friends.<p>

"Now the legacy will have to start all over again. _My son_ will be the new successor of the millennium puzzle!" Dr. Devlin cried joyfully.

Atem's anger rose and his fists shook. At the same time, Duke could feel the same pure hatred building in his heart. Flames were rising in both the boys together at the same moment. Though, Atem was the first to express it_ in words._

"_You_... I WILL _NEVER_ FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS!" Atem shouted in anger, his fists shaking. _"How... How..."_

"HOW DARE YOU FATHER!" Duke shouted in the same manner and anger as Atem. "YOU F***ING SON OF A BITCH! HOW DARE YOU HURT MY FRIENDS!"

"Son..."

"_NO!_ I NEVER WANTED THIS! I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T! I... _I'm embarrassed to even call you _my father," Duke muttered, seething through his teeth. He gathered the puzzle pieces and cradled them into his hands. He stared at them with a saddened face, but not before staring at Atem. "I'm sorry, Atem. It's... I shouldn't have agreed to this game. I should've quit it when my father dragged you like a sack of potatoes. I... I wish I..."

_"It wasn't your fault,"_ Atem muttered with a saddened smile.

"Let me make it up to you by looking after Yugi for ya. I feel a pulsing beat in these pieces."

_"When becoming my friend, you became a part of Yugi as well. There's a secret power inside that I can only activate with you and my friends,"_ Atem whispered, not wanting Dr. Devlin to hear, while giving a wink. Duke's eyes blinked in confusion, not knowing what his friend meant by that. They both got up on their feet and returned to the game board.

Duke rolled his next three dice. He declared, "now, my God Ogre destroys Dark Ninja!" God Ogre sliced through Dark Ninja and destroyed it. "On the positive side, I can't summon anymore monsters."

Atem narrowed his eyes, then threw his dice. He moved his Duker Twin Swords toward his Dungeon Master. Duke rolled his dice, and then moved his God Ogre toward the wormhole to transport it to Atem's side of the field. A gasp left Atem's mouth as the teenage boy watched God Ogre move to his side of the field. He knew he had to think quick or he was going to lose.

"My turn!" Atem declared before rolling his dice. He moved his monsters in front of his Dungeon Master to protect it.

"Nice, but it's not enough!" Duke smirked. "My God Ogre attacks Iron Demon Gorugon!" God Ogre slashed its sword through Iron Demon Gorugon and destroyed it completely. "Now, you've got two monsters left."

"I'll fight till the end!" Atem promised before rolling a summoning crest, a moving crest, and an attacking crest. "Little Wizard, use thunder attack!"

"Sorry, but my defense crests on my God Ogre block your attacks," Duke replied as God Ogre used its sword to block Little Wizard's attack. "Now, my Ogre destroys your Little Wizard!" God Ogre stabbed its sword through Little Wizard and wiped it from the field. "You might as well give up, _your highness_."

"That's it, my boy," Dr. Devlin smirked crazily as if he was from the crazy home. "You underestimate my son if you think you have a chance of winning."

"Shut the f*** up, I'm still mad at you!" Duke snapped at his father. He normally never acted like this, but he felt hurt and betrayed. "But I am winning."

_"Yes, but it's not decided until the end, right?"_ A voice asked rhetorically. Atem gasped, recognizing that voice.

_"Ryou!"_ Atem gasped as he found his white-haired calm friend leaning against the side of the door. "How'd you..."

"My millennium ring can locate millennium items, remember?" Ryou reminded as Atem slapped his hand on his forehead.

_"Right."_

"You have a millennium item too?" Duke asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Yes, you could say we have _alot in common_," Ryou smirked, but then it turned into a serious expression. "But that's not the point. The game has already been decided. Atem is the winner hands-fold."

"What gives _you_ the right to f*** around on who the winner is?" Dr. Devlin snapped.

"When you stole the millennium puzzle. As of now, you have become an enemy of the millennium puzzle," Ryou explained, his ring glowing with brilliance. "_Even mine._ You have angered the dark powers by your thirst. Not only that, but you've also made an enemy of your son."

"What are you talking about? He's winning the puzzle and completing my..."

"_Revenge?_ You are so pathetic! The power of the puzzle is _unity_! By befriending Atem, Duke's soul has become a part of Yugi's soul, his puzzle. Whoever makes an enemy of the puzzle is an enemy with whoever's soul becomes a part of it," Ryou said factually as his ring glowed once more and Dr. Devlin could see it in the boys' eyes. There was a glowing brilliance that once came from the puzzle glowing brightly in Atem's, Ryou's, and even _Duke's_ eyes. "I sensed a reaction while your smoking bomb was trapping me in the bathroom. When breaking the puzzle, you have broken a piece of your son's soul, that's why he's angry with you. Though, if it was my brother speaking, he'd say _Duke was as pissed as hell_."

"Wait, my soul is in the puzzle?" Duke asked baffled.

"Yes, not enough for you to be able to solve it, of course, but enough to where you can help Atem unleash great power _unimaginable_," Ryou explained as Duke's eyes widened in amazement. Duke remembered when the puzzle glowed, it was during the time he wanted his father to stay away from the puzzle. _Was the puzzle responding to _Duke's_ wishes? To Atem's wishes?_ "Now, listen closely, and you'll wanna know _this_, Atem has been chosen 3000 years ago. I should know, because I was there. _Yugi_ was the one who chose him."

"_Me?_ Chosen 3000 years ago? How is that possible?" Atem asked baffled.

"He favored you and loved you like his own brother. Just by seeing your face, he _knew_ you were the one. You were the child of pure darkness with no innocents. Kinda like my brother, Ryan. Many of the priests were surprised by his choice, but never questioned it. There is no doubt that you are chosen and your link, just like my brother and I's, can never be broken by _anything_. It has been there before the day you were even born."

"Enough with your blabbering! I want my boy to win!" Dr. Devlin shouted madly.

"You're hopeless, you know that. Can't you see that your son is your enemy _now_? I guess you might as well _learn the hard way_," Ryou sighed in annoyance. "I'll just be watching the show."

Atem rolled his next three dice and rolled two attacking crests and a magic crest. He declared, "I'll use Duker Twin Swords to attack your God Ogre!" Duker Twin Swords slashed its sword left and right at God Ogre. Duke smirked as he used his moving crests to move his dragon monster and take the attack. "SHIT!"

"So much for that move," Duke smirked before rolling his dice. He then used his God Ogre to attack Duker Twin Swords and wipe it from the field. "And no monsters, still planning on giving up?"

"Not till the very end!" Atem declared boldly.

"Like a Spartan!"

Atem rolled his dice, then moved his Dungeon Master away from Duke's monsters. Duke laughed mockingly with furrowed eyebrows.

"Give it up!" Duke said. "God Ogre, attack Atem's Dungeon Master!" God Ogre attacked Atem's Dungeon Master and it was now left with one heart point left.

"_HA!_ MY SON WINS!" Dr. Devlin smirked with cocky-looking eyes as he took the chained puzzle from the table where Duke left it. It then glowed and burned his hand as soon as he touched the chain. _"YAH!"_

"DON'T YOU _DARE_ TOUCH IT!" Duke shouted with a tremendous roar. Dr. Devlin gasped in horror, seeing the same glowing brilliance in his son's eyes.

"Still don't believe me?" Ryou mocked with a chuckling smirk. "I'll say it once and I'll say it again, _by making an enemy with the millennium puzzle, you also made an enemy out of your son._ He's no longer on your side. That's why Atem's the winner."

Atem scanned across the field and a smirk appeared on his lips. _Perhaps there was still hope._ He grabbed the three dice in his hands and made his bet on his final roll. The dice flew in the air and landed on two summoning crests and a magic crest. A grin laid across Atem's face. Duke narrowed his eyes and slowly shook his head. There was no way Atem could summon a monster with his field this narrow, _unless..._

That's when Duke could see it in Atem's field. _The piece to the puzzle of the field._ It was as if he was seeing through Atem's eyes of where the dimensions would unfold. How was this possible? Not even Duke could see this, only yesterday! He stared at the pieces of the puzzle laying beside him. Perhaps Ryou was right about the puzzle. Maybe that's what Atem meant by a power that he can only activate _through Duke._ He felt that he was somewhat _connected_ to Atem's heart and soul.

The die unfolded and matched the puzzle of the dimension like a puzzle piece. Dr. Devlin gasped, at the same time, Duke and Atem showed a small smile. Atem had summoned Puzz, who was an armored warrior. Atem smirked, aware of its special ability. It was now Duke's turn. Duke rolled again and had his God Ogre to attack again.

"Looks like I win," Duke said victoriously.

"Not so fast!" Atem smirked. "I activate my magic crests to attach itself as equipped armor for my Dungeon Master!"

Duke gasped as he watched Puzz become a shield for Atem's Dungeon Master. Puzz protected it from God Ogre's onslaught. Atem said, "looks like I have to bet this last turn to decide who wins my puzzle."

Duke smiled gratefully and closed his eyes. At the beginning, he was hoping for the game to be just him and Atem, and if he did _win_, to give the puzzle back. Now, it didn't matter, there was only _one thing_ on Duke's mind. Atem rolled his three dice and they revealed two attacking crests and a summoning crest.

"Now, Puzz activates its ability by transforming into a sword!" Atem smirked as Puzz changed into a sword, held by his Dungeon Master. "ATTACK GOD OGRE!" It attacked God Ogre and it disappeared from the field. Now, Duke was left with no monsters. "You have no monsters left to summon, looks like I win by default."

"To be honest, I never wanted the puzzle, so I never truly _wanted_ to win," Duke admitted as Atem nodded his head.

"And that's why Atem's victory was decided from the beginning. You are a protector of the soul, who rests inside the puzzle. It is your job, Duke, to protect the puzzle and its power from greedy thieves like _him_," Ryou proclaimed, pointing his index finger at Dr. Devlin.

Duke revealed a hopeful smile across his lips as he got up from the game board, carrying the pieces of the puzzle, and then giving it to Atem. He carried it and started collecting the other pieces of the puzzle. Ryou took a piece and sealed a part of himself inside. Atem turned his head toward Ryou with cocked eyebrows.

"My evil spirit is still inside. I won't be able to help you when he gets out, so a part of me will always be willing to help when you need it," Ryou winked as Atem smiled and nodded.

_"Thank you,"_ Atem said before taking the piece from Ryou's hand. "Your spirit will always be a part of my heart."

Atem kept the puzzle pieces and carried the top half in his hands. The bottom half pieces were in his right hand. Duke smiled warmly at Atem, but not before staring at his father with an apologetic look.

"Father, I'm sorry I can't be any help," Duke muttered with furrowed eyebrows. "My destiny isn't to be the possessor. In fact, I never wanted that. I just wanted a normal life and friends. Now, I want to help Atem complete his mission and protect him and the puzzle with my life." Dr. Devlin stared at his son awestruck. "I'm sorry for what happened between Atem's grandfather and you, but can we just forget about it? There are more important things than just _revenge_. Let's just live a normal life and to be honest, your face doesn't look too bad. It'd be nice to take off that stupid mask for once."

"Perhaps you're right," Dr. Devlin sighed in defeat. "I... I'm so sorry, Atem. My obsession for revenge got the best of me and... I don't wanna hurt my son anymore than I already have." He then gently took the chain, and in a quick flash, wrapped it around Atem's neck. "GOTCHA! Now, you're coming with me!" He dragged Atem, nearly choking him with the chain.

"DAD! STOP THIS!" Duke cried in concern. _"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"_

"SINCE YOU CAN'T HELP ME GAIN MY REVENGE, I WILL HAVE TO DO IT MYSELF!"

_"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

It was too late, Dr. Devlin dragged Atem to the elevator that led to the basement. Duke and Ryou ran to the elevator door, but it closed before they could stop it. Duke yelled and banged on the elevator door.

"DAD! NO! DON'T DO THIS! _PLEASE!_" Duke cried in wail. Tears leaked out of his eyes. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

_"ATEM!"_ Joey cried out. Him and the others had just woken up from the sleep bomb. They followed Duke's screams into the game room where Duke and Ryou were. The friends found Duke banging on the elevator door and Ryou next to him. "OK! TELL US WHAT'S GOING ON!"

"_My dad,_ I..."

"What's going on?" Solomon asked, having a bad feeling in his gut.

"Dad's gonna play that stupid Shadow Game he played with you years ago!"

"OH MY WORD!"

"I tried stopping him, but... THAT SON OF A BITCH NEVER LISTENS TO ME!"

"It's okay, I know your heart is with my grandson," Solomon said, trying to calm the boy down. "Is there any way to reach them? If we don't stop the game, Atem could _really_ get hurt."

_"It might be too late,"_ Duke muttered in his voice, but not before looking behind him toward the elevator. "Though, there are stairs on the other side, but like I said, _it might be too late_."

"_No matter,_ we'll save Atem if it's the last thing we do!" Joey declared as Duke nodded, then lead everyone to the stairwell.


	5. The Result of Revenge

**Alright, I think you can figure out which part this is. Yes, it's the fire scene, only Bandit Keith is not involved in this. At least this version doesn't make Yugi seem so gullible to give out his puzzle for a fortune. As for the sealing parasite thing, to me, that was just useless. I mean Bakura seals a part of himself into the puzzle just so he can go walking around like a little idiot. I mean yes, because of that sealing thing, Bakura was able to be in memory world, but all that really did was make millennium world more confusing. In my story, Ryou seals a part of himself, so he can help his friends, which will be useful in memory world. Also, the three Bakuras running around thing will make a little more sense, because Yami Ryou, Ryou, and Ryan... three Bakuras. My version makes more sense now doesn't it MUHAHAHAHAHAHA! Review please!**

Atem was continually being yanked with the chain around his neck. Normally, he would've fought back, but nearly choking to death he could barely even _think_. The only thing on Atem's mind was moving as far away from Dr. Devlin as he could. Unfortunately, luck wasn't willing to grant Atem's wishes. Atem was continually being yanked and dragged by the chain around his neck.

Finally, Dr. Devlin dragged Atem to some sort of weird ritual. There was a circle in the middle of the room inside a house shape on the floor. There were four little circles on the outside of each square corner of this house-shape. At the tip of the triangle of this house shape was a round table with a huge bowl in the middle that could be mistaken for a mini arena. Four candles were on each side of the circle and two chairs stood across from each other. It seemed very much like _a game board._

Dr. Devlin yanked Atem in front of his face as sweat continually poured down his face. A mad look was shown on Dr. Devlin and all Atem could do was grab the chain that was strangling his neck.

"From now on, we'll proceed a forbidden ritual. You can just sit yourself over there," Dr. Devlin said as he threw Atem's body against the wall of the room. Atem was panting, barely able to open his eyes. Dr. Devlin stepped up to the forbidden game board, lighting up the candles. "Do you know what kind of wheel this is?" He asked madly and crazily with that sickly grin while pointing to the wheel in the middle of the table. "It is a forbidden game from Ancient Egypt that is said to eat away a person's life. Even though it looks as simple as _reaching the goal_, a person must also bet his own _age_. The loser's number is the age that they'll become. That's why when I lost to that game, I look fifty years older than my own actual age." Atem could barely pay attention to what Dr. Devlin had just said. The only thing on his mind was _Yugi_. To see those big puppy eyes again, to see that cheerful grin that once annoyed Atem more than his own grandfather, to hear that voice that could be mistaken for a child, to hold that soft body in his arms that felt impossible to release. Dr. Devlin didn't care for Atem's well being and continued from where he left off. "My original plan was for Duke to inherit the puzzle and duel against Solomon to complete my revenge, but he has ruined my plans and turned against me. So, I will reassemble the puzzle myself."

If Atem had been able to see Yugi, he would've seen the little spirited boy with tears rolling down his cheeks. He would've felt and heard the anguish inside the young spirit who just wanted Atem. Yugi could, once again, never _touch_ Atem and he couldn't hear the spirit. No matter how loud Yugi cried, Atem could not hear his brother. That terrible nightmare that lasted eight years was happening all over again.

Dr. Devlin took the puzzle pieces from Atem, who was too tired and hurt to fight back. Duke's father then nailed the chain to the table and started assembling the puzzle together one by one. Yugi's spirit reached its finger tips on Atem's tired face, but the fingers fazed through it. Yugi no longer had any connections with his brother and to make things worse, Dr. Devlin was trying to inherit the power for himself.

"Once I assemble the puzzle, _I_ shall inherit the powers," Dr. Devlin smirked deviously with a sickly grin. "Then, I shall use this game to put a curse on you and have you experience the same pain as I did."

_"No, _please!_ Leave him alone!"_ Yugi cried to Dr. Devlin, who jumped a little from the glowing light and cry of _a pleading voice_ from a small child. _"Let me see brother again!"_

"Shut up, you little brat! _I will_ have the powers!" Dr. Devlin growled angrily.

_"_Please_, leave... Yugi... alone,"_ Atem begged with barely any voice. He slowly limped to the game table, using the wall for support. _"I beg you. Don't solve the puzzle. L... Let me see Yugi."_

"I will have the powers and nothing you can do can stop me!" Dr. Devlin grinned before Atem used the last bit of his strength to reach for the puzzle pieces, to touch it.

_"Yugi! Hold on!"_ Atem cried, not caring about anything else than the boy inside those pieces.

"HANDS OFF YOU F*** ASS!" Dr. Devlin shouted before slapping Atem from the backhand. He fell across the floor, barely able to open his eyes.

_"Don't... make... him... angry..."_

Dr. Devlin never listened to Atem or was aware of the anger that the doctor unleashed inside Yugi. He could never forgive _anyone_ who dared to hurt his brother. Yugi felt the flame of anger and hatred burning inside him as Dr. Devlin continued to try to assemble the puzzle. As he continued, he noticed his whole world turning into a maze. His world was turning into circles.

_"TIMEOUT!"_ Dr. Devlin heard a childish voice cry out as his world turned into more rooms, halls, doors, twists, and turns. The whole world was like a maze.

"WHAT'S GOING ON? _WHAT'S HAPPENING?_" Dr. Devlin cried.

_"YOU HURT BROTHER! I'LL _NEVER_ FORGIVE YOU!"_

Dr. Devlin threw the puzzle, out of reflects, and the chain knocked over one of the candles. Before he knew it, the whole table caught on fire, probably because of the table cloth. Dr. Devlin cried and wailed before he started running around like a crazy banshee. His clothes had caught on fire from the table catching on fire. He ran around the room to put out the fire.

Atem got up on his feet, fear in his eyes when seeing the puzzle in the middle of the fire. He grabbed the chain of the puzzle and noticed it was connected to the table. He cried, _"YUUUUUGIIIIIIII!"_

"FIRE! FIRE! I CAN'T GET IT OUT! HELP ME! _HELP ME!_" Dr. Devlin screamed madly.

Atem started pulling the chain harder and harder, but he couldn't break it out. The chain was connected to the table like it was a body part. To make things worse, the fire was building up and growing higher and higher. If Atem didn't figure out how to save the puzzle from being burned in the fire, he would lose Yugi _forever_. In fact, he had forgotten that if Yugi was gone,_ so would he._ He was more worried about losing Yugi than himself.

"HELP! I DON'T WANNA DIE! I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Dr. Devlin screamed madly.

"_OH, FOR THE LOVE OF PEET!_ ROLL ON THE GROUND!" Atem cried out, leaving the puzzle on the table for a little while to help out Dr. Devlin. He rolled on the floor and the fire was put out from his clothes. "There, the fire's out." Dr. Devlin looked up at Atem dumbfounded. Despite all that Dr. Devlin did by hurting Atem, his friend, and his puzzle, he was still willing to save the man's life. He couldn't understand this. There was not a hint of vengeance in this boy's head. "Get out of here and call for help!"

_"I..."_

"DAD!" Duke cried while running down the stairs with Solomon, Ryou, and everyone else. To Atem's surprising eyes, he noticed a _surprising guest_ who wasn't with with his friends when buying the Dungeon Dice Monsters game.

"_SETO_, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Atem asked in a screaming-like manner.

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE AT A MEETING FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO YOU DUMB SON OF A BITCH!" Seto yelled.

"He found us knocked out cold and woke us up from the grave!" Joey explained as Atem nodded.

"Get Mr. Devlin out of here, now!" Atem cried out.

"C'mon Dad!" Duke cried, helping his father out of the fire.

Atem, then saw the puzzle, still in the middle of the fire, only it had grown way worse. If anything happened to Yugi, he could _never_ forgive himself. Atem ran after the puzzle as his friends stared at him like a suicidal person.

"What the hell are you doing?" Joey screamed.

"I can't leave Yugi here!" Atem glared, then grabbed the chain. It burned like the top of a car sitting in the sun, but he didn't care. He cringed in pain while Joey tried to get the chain off the table, connected by the nail.

_"SHIT!"_ Joey responded.

"You've got to be f***ing kidding me!" Seto glared.

_"YUGI!"_ Tea cried, her hands covering her mouth.

"I have to assemble it here!" Atem said.

"ARE YOU NUTS? ARE YOU ON F***ING CRACK? WE HAVE TO GET OUT NOW!" Joey cried, glaring at his friend.

"I CAN'T LEAVE YUGI HERE! IF I DO, I'LL NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN!"

"ATEM, YOU'RE CRAZY! WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS SUICIDAL!" Seto yelled.

"I DON'T CARE! _PLEASE!_ LET ME ASSEMBLE THE PUZZLE ALONE! I... I just wanna see Yugi's face one more time," Atem begged, longingly staring at the pieces. He felt his shirt being grabbed by an angry CEO President.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN _'ONE LAST TIME'_?" Seto screamed in Atem's face. "I BEG YOU, ATEM! DON'T DO THIS! I STILL _NEED_ YOU!"

"Please Set! Let me finish this!"

Seto had to fight every ounce of strength to prevent himself from punching Atem in the gut. There was no way to convince him to change his mind and leave the puzzle on the table. Seto glared at the puzzle in pieces laying on the table. He dropped Atem, letting him assemble the puzzle.

"You geeks go! I'll stay here and keep an eye on Atem!" Seto demanded with command in his eyes.

"But you _both_ will get burned!" Joey glared. "And besides that, how can Atem finish the puzzle in such a short period of time?"

"Atem's never gonna let go of that damn puzzle! If you guys stay here, you'll all be in danger! You leave Atem to me!" Seto ordered.

"You bring Atem out, _you here!_" Joey demanded.

"You better!" Tristan added.

Everyone left up the stairs. Seto stayed behind to keep an eye on Atem while he was finishing the puzzle. It didn't matter if Seto had to knock Atem out cold, there was _no way_ he was going to die. Seto made a promise to himself to make sure that Atem got out of the fire alive. Even if Atem was going to have third degree burns from this. If he was still alive, that was all Seto needed.

Atem kept assembling the puzzle in the middle of the burning flames. He started coughing from the lack of oxygen and the smoke covering almost the entire place. Sweat was pouring down the teenager's face and his fingers were at a quick pace. The only subject on Atem's mind was _Yugi_. To hold him, to see that fun-loving face, to stroke that soft cheek once more. Atem had never felt so eager like this toward anyone, _not even Serenity._

Seto watched as the fire grew stronger. Fear swept through his mind as he watched his friend trying to assemble the puzzle and growing more weary and tired from the lack of oxygen. Atem kept coughing some more as his eyelids drooped, despite the burning pains from the fire burning his skin. He didn't care about he pains and burns, the only one that mattered was Yugi and seeing him again. _There was one more piece._ Atem placed the last piece on the puzzle and Yugi's spirit became visible to his eyes.

_"Y-Yugi I... I'm sorry,"_ Atem muttered happily before he started coughing.

_"BROTHER!"_ Yugi cried as Atem reached his last ounce of consciousness and fell across the table, still holding onto the chain connecting to the puzzle. Yugi ran to his brother and held him tightly. _"_Brother_."_

The fire had blown and swept across the room, burning almost half of Atem's clothes and some of his skin. Seto responded and ran over to the room at the table where Atem was solving the puzzle. To Seto's shock, he had _completed_ the puzzle in only five minutes. _New record!_ Seto decided to worry about that later and try to run Atem out of the game shop. Seto took Atem off the table, using the trench coat he wore to put out the fire, and then carried Atem out of the room,_ or wanted to._ Unfortunately, Atem's hand still had a hold of the chain that was nailed to the table.

_"Shit!"_ Seto seethed through his teeth. He got a hold of Atem's hand that was grabbing a firm hold of the chain of the puzzle and tried to loosen it, or find some way to force the hand to let go of the puzzle. "Damn Atem, you son of a bitch, let go of that damn puzzle!" Try as the CEO President might, he couldn't loosen the grip on Atem's hand on the puzzle. "Atem please, let go of your puzzle!" Seto felt hopeless, not knowing any way to separate Atem's hand from the puzzle. He knew the only way to save Atem was to separate the puzzle from the table. "FINE! HAVE IT _YOUR_ WAY!" Seto took the wheel that was to be for the forbidden game and used the finger to the hand, connected to the wheel. The finger sank through the hole of the nail and Seto used this as a lever. He kicked the wheel to remove the nail from the table. In no time, the nail flew up in the air and Atem's body landed in Seto's arms.

Thinking quickly, Seto ran through the fire, not caring about the painful burns on his body. He ran up the stairs and out of the game shop as the gang watched Seto run Atem out of the fire. Everyone gasped, seeing Atem out cold in Seto's arms with the puzzle in his right hand. Everyone gathered around the teenage boy, holding third degree burns.

"Atem!" Joey cried out.

_"Oh no,"_ Hanaski muttered, noticing the burns on Atem's skin.

"That crazy son of a bitch is okay, but he won't let go of that damn puzzle. He finished the puzzle inside the fire before passing out and still held onto it _unconscious_," Seto explained as everyone continually stared at the unconscious boy longingly. "Their link is as strong as _a chain_."

"No doubt," Duke agreed before turning to his father who seemed to hold guilt on his face. "THIS WAS ALL _YOUR_ DAMN FAULT! IF YOU HADN'T BEEN SO VENGFUL AND GREEDY, NON OF THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED!"

"Seeing that he kidnapped Atem, forced him to a game, f***ed his son, and almost murdered a teenage boy, I'd say he's worse than _my_ old man, and that's saying something," Seto smirked before turning it to a serious face. "You do know you're gonna be arrested for this?"

_"I... I'm so... sorry,"_ Dr. Devlin muttered under his breath.

"Save it for the judge, bitch!" Seto spat. "You almost killed Atem and now charged for attempted murder. More than that, we were supposed to meet at my mansion. You made him _late!_ You should be _sooo_ proud!"

"F*** you, Kaiba!" Tristan snapped.

_"Devlin,"_ Solomon said as the doctor turned his head and faced the old man. "You did this to yourself. I never wished for this and I doubt your son did either."

"Mr. Kaiba," The Ambulance doctor said to Seto, who turned to face him. "We'll take him from here." He took Atem from Seto's hands and laid him on the the mat. Him and other doctors carried the boy inside the truck to take him to the hospital.

The Ambulance drove Atem to the hospital where they treated him from his third degree burns. He held third degree burns on his arms, legs, and parts of his face. The doctors treated the burns and gave Atem some medication to numb the pains. The good news was that the burns weren't as major as most who were found inside a burning building. The bad news was the burns. It would take Atem some time to heal up from the third degree burns. He would also hold several scars on his body for the rest of his life.

That night, Atem slowly opened his eyes with a loud moan. He scanned his surroundings and noticed a dark hospital room with white walls, a couch on the left side of the room beside the window, a TV at the very front, and some balloons on the bed posts. Atem also noticed some flowers and chocolates. Though, there was one thing on Atem's mind, Yugi.

_"Yugi..."_ Atem moaned, then heard a clinging sound of the chain in his right hand. It was the puzzle. _"Y... Yugi."_

_"Brother,"_ Yugi replied beside Atem on the bed. _"Thanks for saving me."_

_"_Yugi_... I thought I'd never see you again,"_ Atem replied in a whisper while stroking Yugi's right cheek._ "Are you okay?"_

_"That's what I should be asking _you_."_

_"But you almost burned in the fire."_

_"True,"_ Yugi shrugged, then snuggled next to Atem. Yugi laid his head on his brother's left shoulder. _"I was afraid I'd never get to touch you like this again."_

"Nothing can separate us, Yugi," Atem said, twisting Yugi's gold lock in his finger. Yugi looked up at his brother with those bright violet eyes and a soft smile across his lips. They could not take their eyes off each other. It was like there was an invisible _attraction_ between the two twin-like boys. "Yugi."

_"Yes?"_

"I love you," Atem whispered, then kissing Yugi on the tip of his nose. He made a little giggling noise, then wrapped his arms around Atem's neck.

_"I love you too, brother,"_ Yugi replied, laying a kiss on Atem's neck. _"You remember the first time we met face to face?"_

"You mean the day you pinned me to the floor?" Atem asked with a smirk up his lips.

_"It was your _soul room_ and I was excited when you solved the puzzle. I just had to know what it was like to hug you close. I can't help it, if I've never touched anyone for 3000 years."_

"Speaking of not doing _something in years_," Atem smirked before pulling Yugi's face to his and nuzzled against it. Yugi chuckled while feeling his brother's nuzzling face against his. He continually laughed, then nuzzled his face on Atem's neck. "I'll always keep you close."

_"Same here, I love you, brother."_

"I love you too, Yugi. _Always._"

_"Question."_

"Yes?"

_"Can I have those chocolates?"_

"Tomorrow."

_"Aw."_

"Yugi, it's two in the morning."

_"Fine."_

"But I'll let you be on the bottom."

Atem switched with Yugi, since the burns were so painful that he couldn't move. Yugi felt the drowsiness from the medications, but also Atem's gentle touch. Atem nuzzled his face inside Yugi's neck, feeling the darkness in every corner of his sight. Atem held Yugi's gentle body in his arms, never wanting to let go. He had almost lost Yugi in the fire and would not plan on losing him anytime soon. Atem realized, at this point, how much he wanted Yugi in his heart. Without Yugi, Atem's whole world and existance would be empty.

Dr. Devlin was arrested and charged for _attempted murder_. Later on the next day, the police did some questioning with Atem to get answers. He explained what happened in truth, leaving out the part where Yugi's spirit was inside the puzzle. Atem used the excuse of _going after the puzzle, because it was given to him by his grandfather_. Atem also left out the part where Dr. Devlin believed in the supernatural and was after power, not wanting Duke to suffer the fate of seeing his father in a crazy home.

Dr. Devlin was never placed in an Asylum, but was to be placed and stay in jail for a good amount of years. Duke was allowed to call his father from time to time, but only once a day. He also became a full fledged adult, being seventeen years of age and having no other family members in Japan. Solomon was willing to help Duke in his struggles, but one thing stood out: _Duke was finally free._


	6. A Place to Belong

**Alright, now that the Duke Devlin story is over, now it's time to move onto the deeper part of the plot. Now, I'm going to mix different scenes of Battle City. Not like the anime, but my own little version of it. Like this chapter is going to include two different scenes in one chapter. The same will go for the next chapter. Review please!**

"I summon Dark Magician to take out your warrior!" Atem declared. He was playing Duel Monsters with Joey, who was visiting him at the Hospital.

"DAMN!" Joey yelled as everyone, gathering around the hospital bed, laughed.

"What is this, the one hundredth time in a row?" Ryan mocked.

"SHUT THE F*** UP, RYAN! NOBODY ASKED _YOU_!" Joey snapped in his reply.

"The only reason you're losing is because you're using the same strategies. You need to try rearranging your deck. Yugi and I have been doing that these past three days here," Atem suggested, his legs crossed in his hospital gown.

"I'm glad your burns are healing up!" Tea said cheerfully.

"Yep and still willing to kick Joey's ass for one hundred and oneth time."

"_One hundred and oneth_ isn't even a word," Tristan smirked as everyone in the room started laughing.

_"Oh whatever!"_

"I'm glad Kaiba got you out of that fire. He's an ass, but we still owe it to him," Tea mentioned.

"True. What I can't believe is that you managed to complete the puzzle in less than five minutes while being fried to a crisp," Joey said with surprise in his voice.

"Yeah, what were you thinking the whole time while solving the puzzle?" Tea asked.

"I just wanted to see Yugi again. He said he was scared during the time, because he was afraid he was going to face that nightmare he had during the past eight years when I was still trying to solve the puzzle," Atem explained as his friends nodded.

"I don't blame him for being scared. I know if my ring was in that fire, I wouldn't have done anything different," Ryan admitted with a low sigh while staring at the ring around his neck.

"Anyways, Joey, how's Serena going with her surgery?" Atem asked, trying to change the subject.

"She's very nervous about it," Joey replied, a sigh escaped his mouth. "She's gonna need as much support she can get."

"It's a good thing the surgery is going to be done in Domino City. That way she'll be nearby."

"_Oh man,_ she almost had a heart attack when she found out how close you were to being fried chicken," Joey smirked as Atem rolled his eyes.

_"Hey geeks!"_ Seto smirked, entering the hospital room with a suitcase and a slight smirk up his lips. "Sorry to interrupt your little _group gathering_, but I need to talk to Atem about private business matters, since he missed our last meeting."

"What _private business matters_? If this includes my friends, than I'm..." Joey glared before Atem interrupted.

"Joey, it's fine. Let Seto and I make up for the last meeting I lost," Atem said as Joey nodded, then him and the rest left the room, but not before Tea mentioned something.

"Tell Yugi I'll be waiting at the town square at ten and if he's late, I'll kill him," Tea reminded, halfly teasing. Atem nodded while rolling his eyes, then the girl left the room.

After everyone left and closed the door, Seto opened his suitcase and brought out his laptop. He sat next to Atem on the bed with the laptop on their laps, and then opened it. Atem curiously peered at the screen of the laptop, which was waking up from its sleep mode. After Seto typed in his password, the screen showed some information plans. Atem seemed to understand it very well. The information showed some text and notes with the title reading "Battle City Information."

"I just got a call from a woman named Ishizu Ishtar, saying she wants to have a discussion about something... _important_. Though, despite boring history lessons, she does contain a rare card she's promised to lend me," Seto said as Atem let out a sigh and blew his gold bangs from his face.

"_Shit._ Just when you think you get enough of that from school."

"Apparently, she thinks that there's some sort of _ancient battle_ taking place in our _Battle City_. Says she saw it in her millennium necklace, which can see the future."

"A fortuneteller? Now I'm interested," Atem smirked as Seto rolled his eyes with a quaint smile.

"Not when we meet her tomorrow. She says she'll _show of what will take place_ during our Battle City. Also, this _Ishizu_ has information about some thieves who steal rare cards and counterfeit others. They're called Rare Hunters. Meeting this woman will give us a boring history lesson, but also the goods."

"Speaking of boring, when are you gonna stop acting like some boring businessman from the depths of hell?" Atem asked while elbowing his friend.

"_Boring businessman?_ In case you haven't noticed, being a _businessman_ is my work," Seto glared.

"Yes, but you're freakin' sixteen years old! When are you gonna loosen up and have a little fun once and awhile? You know, like going to the park, riding roller coasters, and belching?"

"You're crazy! I run a freakin' company and with bills, stocks, and raising a brother on the line, I don't exactly have time to _be a kid_!" Seto argued before Atem started rolling his eyes and sighing at the same time. "Anyways, I need you to come with me to..."

"I'll see this Ishizu bitch, maybe even f*** with her," Atem replied before Seto snorted while rolling his eyes.

"Like your other sex partners?"

"You're the only guy says it right."

"That's because I'm not like your geek friends who just calls any girls you f*** with your _girlfriends_."

"That's true," Atem smirked before Seto closed his laptop, then placed it in his suitcase before locking it up. He faced Atem with a serious glare. "Tomorrow at 8, _don't_ be late."

"I never am."

"Which is why I'm not saying 7," Seto replied with a slight smirk. "Enjoy the flowers."

Seto left out the room while Atem sighed deeply while eying at the flowers Seto gave him as a _Get Well_ present. Every one of his friends have been giving Atem flowers, balloons, and chocolates, since he was recovering at the hospital. Mokuba had given Atem a teddy bear, which he found very cute, Tea gave chocolates, Joey gave flowers, Tristan gave a balloon with skittles, Solomon and Uka gave a bokay of roses, and Serenity had Joey deliver a box of cookies.

Atem used his alone time to watch some TV shows. After a few shows, he heard a knock on the door and immediately turned the TV off.

"Come in!" Atem cried before the door opened.

A nurse came into the room along with Serenity, who was holding her arm. Atem gasped quietly, surprised that Serenity came to the hospital this early. It was true she was to move to this hospital for her surgery, but it was quicker than Atem expected. He immediately scooted room for Serenity to sit by him.

"Serena, you're here!" Atem responded before Serenity climbed on the bed on her hands and knees.

"I wanted to see your face before they started the surgery," Serenity said while crawling on the bed, then placing her soft hand on Atem's right cheek.

"I'm glad you're here."

"I am too!"

"I'll be outside the door if you need me," the nurse said before leaving the room to give the kids privacy.

Serenity laid on the bed beside Atem with his arm around her shoulders. Atem laid a firm kiss right on Serenity's soft lips while a soft moan escaped. Serenity returned the kiss, tasting those warm lips before parting. Atem had never seen anything more beautiful than the girl in his arms. His smile grew just by thinking about his girl being able to see clearly again.

"Joey says you're nervous about the surgery," Atem said.

"I am, but... I wanna see the world with my own two eyes," Serenity said with a huge smile. Then, her face changed to a moping frown. "But I'm afraid the surgery will be a failure."

"It won't be," Atem vowed while holding Serenity a little closer.

"But what if it is. I'll never be able to see you or Joey again."

"Sometimes fulfilling your dreams means taking risks. Joey and I took a huge amount of risks in order to get you where you are today. Playing Duel Monsters is no different. The object of the game is to take out your opponent's life points, but it can also mean betting your last move as a chance of victory."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"I suppose you're right, but I'm still a little scared."

"No matter what happens Serena..." Atem stated before laying a deep and soft kiss on Serenity's lips. He then whispered, _"I'll always be with you."_

"Thanks, I love you."

"I love you too."

"By the way, what the heck were you thinking inside that fire? From what I hear, you were inside solving your puzzle while the whole place was burning down."

"It's kinda hard to explain," Atem replied. Serenity had no idea of Yugi's existence or had ever _seen_ Yugi. Explaining to her about Yugi was going to be tough. "My millennium puzzle is very important to me. It's... _how do I explain it?_ It's like a special piece to my heart. It's my most valuable treasure."

"But is it so worth saving it over your own life?"

Atem chuckled slightly and replied, "I suppose it is."

"Please don't scare me like that again," Serenity begged, placing her hand on the millennium puzzle.

"I can't promise you anything, but I'll keep out of trouble until after surgery," Atem promised with a wink.

Serenity couldn't help, but smile as she leaned her head against Atem's shoulder. Atem didn't know how he was going to explain to Serenity about Yugi's existence. It was not something believable, even to her ears. With Atem's friends, they discovered this by seeing Yugi being lifted or something, but Serenity couldn't _see_. Atem knew the only way to explain this to Serenity was to wait until after surgery. Her eyes would be perfect vision and she would be able to see Yugi. Atem decided to wait until then.

Atem and Serenity spent some more together, then Serenity returned back into her own room. Atem had the room to himself once again. He walked over to the couch and glanced out the window, which showed a great view of Domino City. Yugi looked over at the window with a cheerful smile across his face in his spirit form. Atem looked over at his brother with a small smile, being glad that him and Yugi were together again.

_"You know, we have pretty good friends with us. If it wasn't for Seto, we'd both be burned alive,"_ Yugi said as Atem nodded in agreement.

"We sure do, Yugi," Atem agreed, still looking out the window. He then noticed something bugging Yugi. "Is something wrong?"

_"It's nothing, I guess, but I wish I could remember who I am, where I come from, and all."_

"I'm sure we'll eventually find out. We just don't know where to look, but I know we'll soon find out more about your past."

_"Yeah, but..."_ Yugi muttered, still looking out the window with a depressed sigh. _"I'm afraid."_

"Afraid of what?"

_"That... I don't know... If I find out who I am then we... might have to separate."_

Atem snapped his head at Yugi's direction with a baffled expression. He asked, "what makes you think that?"

_"Well, if the dead roams the earth and they finish their unfinished business, they return to the Underworld. At least that's what Mrs. Evans said in History Class. I'm of the dead, so... if I finish my business in retrieving my memories, won't _I_ return to the Underworld as well?"_

Atem normally never paid attention in History Class, but he remembered that part Yugi was explaining. He never thought about that. Yugi was _of the dead_, technically speaking. So, say he was to retrieve his memories, wouldn't that mean that he would return to the Underworld with the rest of the dead? Just thinking about that made Atem hesitant.

"I suppose," Atem replied, then got up off the couch. "Anyways, we better rest up for tomorrow. Tea's expecting you to appear on your date and Seto expects me to be at the museum at five to meet Ishizu Ishtar. _Won't that be exciting?_"

Yugi continually stared out the window with a depressed facial expression. He muttered, _"I want to be with you forever... even if I don't retrieve my memories. It doesn't really matter."_ Atem furrowed his eyebrows while staring at the ground. He was trying hard to not cry, but tears were leaking through his eyes and rolling down his cheeks. He turned his head and saw Yugi was still staring at the window. _"I love being with you and our friends. I don't wanna go to the Underworld when I like it here already."_

_"Yugi,"_ Atem muttered before grabbing Yugi by the back of gown and wrapped him in his arms. "I don't want you to leave either." More tears rolled down Atem's cheeks. "You can have my memories instead."

_"Thanks brother. Who cares if I never get my memories back? I've got you and my friends. Things can just stay the way they are."_

"I suppose," Atem chuckled, still holding onto Yugi tightly. "I love you so much."

_"I love you too, brother. More than life."_

"Let's get some sleep."

_"Agreed."_

Atem and Yugi slept that night. Yugi rested his head on his brother's chest and gave a low sigh. _Things were just the same. Nothing had to change._ For some reason, Yugi felt uneasy with the unchanging decision. Maybe the date with Tea would make things a little brighter. Just seeing her bright smile. Nothing needed to change. _Nothing._


	7. Stones of Old

**In case you guys haven't noticed, I used the title of the last chapter, which neither of the scenes ever occurred. In fact, it was the dating scene with Yami and Tea. I'm making an exception, because I'm mixing the dating scene, the scene where Seto gets Obelisk, and the scene where Yugi discovers his own past. I'm basically hitting three birds with one stone, more like two with the meeting with Ishizu, because the two scenes of Yugi and Seto meeting Ishizu will happen at the same time. I'm only doing this, because Seto and Atem are family (not literally) and coe-hosts for Battle City. It'd be more appropriate if both met Ishizu and it's a good chance for me to do littlekuriboh jokes. Review please!**

Tea woke up the next morning for her date with Yugi. Her father was dropping her off, since Tea didn't recieve her driver's license yet and was frightened about riding motorcycles. She couldn't even understand how Serenity would be able to deal with riding those when she starts dating Atem outside the hospital.

Speaking of _dating Atem_, Tea's father thought Tea was going out with _Atem_. Tea had learned, while dating Yugi, that this was never going to end. Tea and Atem agreed that when Serenity learns about Yugi's existence, that it was better for Atem to suck up dating two girls to the public. It wouldn't be called _cheating_ if Tea and Serenity knew about it. Atem had a bad reputation anyway, so it wouldn't affect him as badly. As for Tea's father finding this out, Tea knew that she would have to deal with that when the time came, until then, it was better if her dad never knew about _Atem's side_.

Tea stared out the window as buildings kept passing by like they were moving. She was excited about her date. Atem had recovered from the third degree burns, so Yugi would be able to go out with Tea. While thinking about these things, Tea heard her phone ring. Her caller ID read _"Atem's Cell." _Tea flipped her phone and pressed talk.

"Hello?" Tea answered.

_"Tea, it's Atem. While on the date, could you speak with Yugi?"_ Atem asked.

"Why, what's wrong?"

_"Something's bothering Yugi and he won't talk to me. I think if you talk to him, you might be able to get through to him. You think you can do that for me?"_

"Of course! I'm on my way right now."

_"Good. Make sure you get some condoms on the way, I left mine at home."_

"SHUT THE HELL UP, ATEM! YOU'RE WORSE THAN MY DAD!"

Atem gawked up laughing, then said, _"and miss seeing Yugi turn into a strawberry? Forget it! You two have fun and remember, the d*** goes through..."_

"GOODBYE ATEM!" Tea replied, before hanging up. "UGH!"

Tea's dad gawked up laughing, amused at Tea's embarrassment. Tea rolled her eyes while sighing deep and heavily. At least Atem wasn't as nitpicky about Tea and Yugi dating as last year. Tea's father parked the car at the Town Square by a tea shop called the _Red Bubble Tea_. Tea exited from the car and ran to Yugi, who hugged his girlfriend, picking her up off her feet.

"Hey Tea!" Yugi greeted with his grinning smile. He noticed Tea's father. "HEY MR. GARNER!"

"Glad to see you again, Atem!" Mr. Garner greeted. "You two have fun!"

"OKAY!"

Tea's father drove back on the road, leaving Yugi and Tea alone on their date. They entered the _Red Bubble Tea_, ordering their drinks and sitting on the booths. The two sat across from each other with their glasses of tea with a straw inside them.

Tea noticed Yugi staring out the window quietly. He wore a white tank top with a Yin and Yang symbol in the middle, a pair of blue jeans, some tennis shoes, spiked black bracelets and an arm cuff on his right arm, and a belt worn diagonally. Yugi sighed deeply while staring out the window. _Atem was right, something was bothering Yugi._

"Yugi, what's wrong?" Tea asked worriedly.

_"Hm?"_ Yugi replied with a questionable look. "Oh, nothing."

"Yugi, I know you! Something's bothering you and I'm worried, even Atem's worried."

"He is?" Yugi asked surprised. He sighed again, finishing his drink. "I'm fine really. Anyways, where can we go now?"

"Good question. Let's take a look around," Tea suggested, grabbing Yugi's arm.

After leaving the Tea Shop, Yugi and Tea walked around the Town Square, enjoying the sites. Yugi always enjoyed Tea's company and still did, but he was still feeling lost. Finding his memories had been on his mind since yesterday. Yugi wanted to know where he came from, but he didn't want to leave his brother. Since he was okay about everything staying the way it is, it didn't matter to him, _right?_ Yugi wasn't sure at this point.

Yugi noticed a Trading Card shop and decided to buy some cards. Tea followed along, trying to help her beau pick a couple of cards. While searching through the stacks of cards, Atem's spirit all of a sudden appeared. Yugi noticed right away that his brother heard something.

_'What did you hear?'_ Yugi asked.

_"I don't know. I think it's a young girl, but I can't be sure,"_ Atem replied. He faced a curtain isle where he thought he heard a voice. _"I think it's behind this isle or..."_

_"Hey! Over here!"_ The voice called again, this time Atem was sure it was inside a pack of cards on the isle where a bunch of cards were sold.

_"I think I heard the voice coming from here,"_ Atem said, pointing to a little bag of cards. Yugi took it right away and another stack of cards.

_'I'll buy it! I get the feeling it might be your soul card calling you. I heard the same call from Dark Magician,'_ Yugi said as Atem rose two eyebrows.

_"Anyways, sorry for disturbing your date."_

_'You're not! You just heard your soul card! I say it's worth making notice.'_

_"Thanks."_

Atem's spirit disappeared and Yugi bought the cards. Tea was glad that this was making Yugi happy. He searched through the cards he received. He had Lightforce Sword, King's Knight, Queen's Knight, Jack's Knight, and Card Destruction. Yugi grinned in excitement.

"Brother's gonna love this!" Yugi said excitedly.

"I bet!" Tea agreed, then Yugi opened another bag of cards. The next bag of cards showed Spell Textbook, Magic Cylinder, Magician's Selection, Ragnarok, and Dark Magician Girl.

"Dark Magician Girl, she must be brother's soul card!" Yugi shouted excitedly.

"Soul card?"

"Brother heard a voice from this stack. Since Dark Magician Girl is the only monster in here, she must be his soul card."

"Huh."

"Anyways, is there anyplace else you wanna go to?"

"We can go to the arcade," Tea suggested as Yugi put out a big grin.

Yugi and Tea entered into the arcade, which showed a bunch of games. Tea mentioned that it had been a while since she had been to an arcade. This one had just recently opened and had a Dance Dance Revolution included. The couple noticed a guy with a nose ring and dancing clothes showing off his dance moves. Yugi grew very curious about this type of game. It seemed to fit Tea's style.

Tea's interest grew stronger as the girl gazed at the Dance Dance Revolution machine. Yugi could tell that Tea wanted to play on that machine. The guy playing the game was Johnny Steps apparently. After he finished dancing, the score showed an A+ on the hardest level.

"Who dares to challenge against me?" Johnny Steps bragged to the world. Tea stepped onto the empty spot.

"I will!" Tea declared. She took off her jacket and gave it to Yugi, who watched his girlfriend prepare for her dance.

"How about a bet? If I win, you have to go out with me tonight. _Hey!_ Maybe that's why you _accepted_ the challenge."

"_OH_, IT'S ON!" Tea glared in reply. Johnny Steps chose his music and they both played on the hardest level.

Tea and Johnny Steps began dancing and stepping on the right arrows up, down, left, or right. Johnny seemed hesitant and shot his arm toward Tea's direction. Tea ducked just in time before continuing her dance moves. She never lost focus on the dance. Yugi was jumping up and down, cheering for his girlfriend. Johnny started swishing his leg toward Tea's right leg, but Tea dodged it just in time. Everyone was cheering for Tea's victory.

On the third round, Johnny Steps started falling behind. Everyone screamed louder, then Johnny Steps slipped and fell on his behind. Tea passed with flying colors. Yugi was crying and cheering for Tea's victory over the dance floor. Tea felt excitement in her blood. She felt more pumped and happy than she had ever been before.

"YOU DID IT, TEA!" Yugi cried happily.

Tea jumped off from the gaming floor and into Yugi's arms. The two kissed so deeply and passionately. Yugi and Tea left the arcade and stood by the pier. Tea held onto Yugi's arm and laid her head on the midget's shoulder. Yugi looked over toward the horizon of the ocean as the ocean breeze blew against his face.

"Who would've thought paying fifty cents would make me work up a sweat? It feels good to feel like I've accomplished something," Tea said with a soft smile.

"Tea, you say that you want to go to college to be a dancer right?" Yugi asked as Tea nodded.

"Yes, why?"

"Well, aren't you afraid that if you go that... you'll have to leave your friends, _your family?_"

"I am, but if I don't follow my dreams, I'll never move forward. If we all stay here and not move forward, we'll never succeed in life."

"What do you do to encourage yourself to move forward?"

"Well, I have my friends to support me and I have my dreams to think about," Tea replied, then turned her head and faced Yugi. "What is _your_ dream?"

"To find my memories. To know where I come from. To... meet the friends and family I once met so long ago, but... I want to stay here with you guys. If I accomplish getting my memories, I might have to leave to the Underworld."

_"Oh,"_ Tea replied, realizing what Yugi was getting at. "I guess I can see why that would bother you so much." She pushed Yugi's gold bangs from her beau's face. "If finding who you are is what you really want, then you should go. You're human and you have a choice. I know Atem would want you to follow your dreams."

"I suppose, but he doesn't want me to leave either," Yugi said before leaving out a sigh and staring at the horizon. "I don't want to leave if brother wants me to stay."

"Yugi, nobody wants to drift apart. I mean, not even I want to leave my friends, let alone you. Though, I think of it this way, even if I do go to college and dance in New York, I'll meet my friends again evenually," Tea explained. Yugi shot his head up and looked straight at Tea. "Even _goodbye_ is never forever. I'll visit my friends again soon and we'll spend time like old times."

"But the Underworld's different."

"No, it isn't. Think about it, Yugi. We won't be here forever. We'll die someday and go to the Underworld too. When that comes, don't you think we'll join again."

"I suppose."

"Yugi, instead of looking at the negatives, look at the positives. I know if you chase after your dreams, you'll be able to make them come true."

Yugi smiled at Tea and said, "thanks, and you're right, even brother would want me to obtain my memories if that's what I want. He wouldn't want me to be stuck in Domino City."

"That's the spirit!"

Yugi felt huge spirit in his heart. He held Tea in his arms, thanking her for her encouragement. Yugi knew that he would complete his mission in obtaining his memories. It'd take alot of mental strength, but he knew that with determination, he can fulfill his dream. This is what Yugi wanted, what Atem would want. _That was enough!_

After the date, Atem changed into his normal outfit. Yugi was on the bed with a unsuring look on his face. Atem as able to notice this and sat next to his brother.

"How was the date?" Atem asked, wrapping his arms around Yugi's waist.

_"It was great! Brother, I want to find out who I am and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to obtain my memories. I heard that there's a new exhibit in the museum. Maybe they have some clues this time,"_ Yugi thought as Atem showed a soft smile.

"After our meeting with Ishizu, I'll let you walk around and see if you can find anything."

_"Even if we might have to separate?"_

"Yugi..."

_"I know it's gonna be hard for both of us, but... I want to know."_

"Yugi, you know I love you, right?"

_"Yeah."_

"Then that's all you need to know. I want us to be together forever, and as long as we love each other, we'll never be far apart."

Yugi glomped onto Atem with embracing arms around his neck. A smile peeped on Yugi's lips and he whispered in Atem's ear, _"thank you."_

Atem never resisted from hugging his brother back. He placed a kiss behind Yugi's neck, then held onto Yugi some more. Atem held onto Yugi tighter before they got up on their feet. Atem stripped on a black muscle shirt over his long sleeved white shirt. He reached over for his millennium puzzle and was about to place it around his neck.

_"Wait, Ishizu has a millennium item. She might be our enemy. I mean didn't Pegasus mention that the millennm items contain _a dark evil?_"_ Yugi mentioned

"You serve a point," Atem agreed, then cradled the millennium puzzle in his hands. "But last time I tried to hide the puzzle, Duke's ass father stole it from my backpack. I'll have to find a safer place."

_"If only it was as small as Seto's key."_

"Wait, that gives me an idea," Atem smirked. He got out his uniform jacket and wore it like a cape, then he took the millennium puzzle and turned the puzzle around on his back, covering the puzzle under the jacket.

_"Impressive,"_ Yugi complimented with a slight smirk.

"And if anyone tries to snatch it, they'll have to take this thing off my neck."

_"Let's go meet Seto. He wants us to arrive at 8 and it's 7:37."_

"Which is why we have to leave now."

Atem left the Game Shop and hopped onto his motorcycle before leaving. He drove with his jacket waving in the air. The puzzle kept bouncing on Atem's back, which felt weird to Atem. He had never worn the puzzle like this before. The school jacket's top buttons were buttoned around Atem's neck, so it wouldn't fly off him. Atem made it ten minutes early to the museum where he was to meet Seto.

Seto was waiting at the entrance to the museum with his usual purple trench coat and green undershirt. A brief case was held in his right hand. He peered at his watch as Atem climbed up the stairs while rolling his eyes. He was thinking that Seto really needed to cut down on the businessman stuff. Atem even chuckled while climbing up to his friend.

"And what's so funny?" Seto asked.

"_You._ You really need to stop acting so _serious_. You're starting to act like Bruce Wane. At least he's not as boring," Atem smirked as Seto returned one.

"You read way too many comic books."

"Actually, Hanaski does. I swear, you should see the stack of comic books he collects. They're like his drug or something."

"Now, why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Because the kid's more nerdier than the Trekkies... okay, maybe not THAT nerdy."

Seto gave a snort through his nose while him and Atem climbed up to the museum. They entered through the door and found themselves inside a large quiet room, since the museum closed at 8:00. Atem placed his hands inside his pockets while tapping on the floor loudly. He was inside for only five seconds and was already starting to feel bored. This made Seto show a smirk. Atem was not used to meetings like these.

A dark skinned woman appeared with two men behind her, who wore turbans. Atem almost laughed at the fact that Ishizu had two Muslim-looking men protecting her. She wore black hair that reached down her back, dark skin, a white tunic that reached passed her ankles with golden decorations on the top, and a millennium necklace around her neck with the Eye of Horus.

The woman smiled, but then showed a baffled look. She stared at Atem closely as if she was studying him. She closed her eyes for a mer second and loosely touched her millennium necklace. Atem gazed closely, wondering if this woman was trying to see the future or something. The woman opened her eyes and held a blank face while staring at Atem. She brushed the expression off, then faced Seto.

"Mr. Kaiba, it's an honor to see you," Ishizu greeted. Seto hummed in reply. "Might I ask who your friend is."

"Not my friend," Seto corrected, even though Atem knew that was a big fat lie. A smirk showed across his lips. "Coe-host for the tournament or is your fortunetelling not as accurate as you say."

"You mean like your first statement?" Atem asked rhetorically as Seto shot him a glare.

"Might I ask your name?" Ishizu asked Atem.

"Atem Moto and just so you're clear, Seto and I aren't interested in History Lessons, especially me. We're only here to get information on the Rare Hunters and to fulfill your promise to distribute Seto a rare card," Atem declared as Ishizu nodded.

"Understood. Though explaining about the Rare Hunters' intentions do require a bit of history."

"Just get to the main point, so you won't be wasting our time," Seto glared.

Ishizu nodded and said, "follow me."

Atem and Seto followed Ishizu. Atem furrowed his eyebrows and showed an uninterested facial expression. He predicted how this would turn out: a boring history lesson. He eyed Seto with that expression. He didn't seem interested either or cared what Atem would do. Atem smirked with ideas stuck in his head.

"I'm sure you boys know that Maxamillion Pegasus got the idea of Duel Monsters from ancient history in Egypt," Ishizu said.

"Atem mentioned it after his victory," Seto mentioned.

"The items I'm about to show you will not only explain the rare card I have and the information on the Rare Hunters, but is also from the tomb of the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh," Ishizu said.

"So we get to see some junk that belonged to a dead corps? _How interesting_," Atem replied sarcastically.

"Actually, this one is," Ishizu replied before opening a door to a part of the exhibit that was not allowed by anyone else. "What you're about to see is..."

_"OH MY GOD, A GIANT ROCK!"_ Atem blurted out, who couldn't resist a time where he could annoy Ishizu for having to force the boys into a boring history lesson. Seto had to cover his mouth to prevent himself from bursting out in laughter. Ishizu, on the other hand, seemed VERY annoyed.

"Yes, _a giant rock_," Ishizu replied very irritatedly. "With the origins of Duel Monster cards. In ancient Egypt, people believed that disasters came from the demons inside a person's heart. Pharaohs and sorcerers would take that demon out and seal them into tablets to bring peace throughout their country. They soon used these demons to fight their battles..."

_"LOOK SETO, ANOTHER GIANT ROCK!"_ Atem shouted in front of another tablet next to the one by the one Ishizu was showing the boys. Atem had not paid attention to a word Ishizu just got finished explaining. Seto snorted, but not before peering at the tablet and noticed something about it. Atem was the first to say something. He pointed at the drawn person with spiky hair. _"...AND THIS ONE HAS ME IN IT!"_

"Really? So, what does this mean?" Seto asked, playing along. He surprisingly did not mind Atem's immature acts.

"Well, according to this tablet, you are the guy with the White Dragons and I'm the one with the Dark Magician. This means that we were destined to play cardgames for eternity."

_"Best destiny ever."_

Atem cracked up in laughter as Ishizu sighed heavily, trying to control her emotions. The truth was, she was not prepared like she usually was. Ishizu, for some odd reason, could not _see_ this boy in her millennium necklace. No matter what part of the time stream she tried to predict, she could not find this immature boy. Not predicting Atem to appear with Seto, threw Ishizu's plan to prepare this historical Battle City out of wack.

While Atem was entertaining himself, Yugi's spirit was in front of the two tablets. Yugi discovered he could read these ancient writings. The first tablet was one of a bunch of Duel Monsters. The other told of an battle that took place 3000 years ago. There was no doubt the person on the right was himself from 3000 years ago. _It was no wonder Yugi couldn't remember a thing!_ It was so long ago and according to the inscriptions, his memory was wiped clean. Even his true name was erased from the tablet.

Yugi knew these tablets were clues to his past and this woman, a millennium item possessor or not, knew something about his past. There was a chance that Ishizu was not to be trusted, but what if she held the answer to Yugi's ancient past? Yugi thought about what Tea said. He knew in order to follow his dreams, he had to go to this woman for answers.

_"Brother,"_ Yugi said as Atem faced his brother, still recovering from his laughter. _"Could you let me take over? This tablet. I can read it and that person is me! This woman knows something about my past!"_

Atem rose two eyebrows, and then looked at the tablet once again. He sighed and a smile appeared on his lips before saying, _'if you can get me out of this hell history class, you can jump off a cliff for all I care.'_

Ishizu noticed something weird happening to Atem. She rose two eyebrows, then noticed that Atem looked more childish than normal, not that he wasn't acting like one as it was. Yugi dug his arm under the school jacket and retrieved the millennium puzzle hidden, letting it hang in front of him. Ishizu gasped aloud in pure shock. She then realized why she could not see this boy in her necklace. This boy had a millennium item. Ishizu's necklace could not predict anyone who are millennium item carriers.

"Miss Ishtar right? I'm sorry about my brother's actions, but I really need to know about my past. You must know something since you know a lot about these tablets," Yugi said, pointing to the tablet with his own figure.

Seto furrowed his eyebrows, noticing that Atem switched places with Yugi. It did not really surprise him that Yugi was from ancient Egypt or the fact that his picture was the person carved onto this stone tablet. Seto, in fact, envied Atem for having the advantage to avoid pointless lessons like these. Though, it seemed important to Yugi. Then again, this was his past where he originally came from.

Ishizu bowed at Yugi's feet, saying, "my pharaoh, Yugi, you have returned at last." She stood up as Yugi stood, listening. "If I had known Atem was the carrier of your soul, I would have asked for your presents. You seek for your memories, am I correct?"

"Can you help me and can I trust you? Every person I know with a millennium item have been declared my enemies in some way."

"I hold a millennium item, but I am not your enemy. Though, your true enemy is the holder of the last millennium item you seek."

"This is ridiculous! I came here to find information about the Rare Hunters and the rare card and you're not giving me a f***ing thing!" Seto glared.

"Says to the guy who participates in childish acts," Ishizu rebuked. "But that shouldn't surprise me. You are a reincarnate of Yugi's first cousin, who was known for participating in childish acts behind the pharaoh's back."

"Can you tell me about these Rare Hunters? I only know from brother that they're card thieves and counterfeiters," Yugi asked politely, trying to help Seto.

"Of course," Ishizu agreed. "The Rare Hunters are an organization, who plan to steal Duel Monster cards, as you said. They have also stolen two of the most powerful cards, the Egyptian God Cards. They were called gods, because that's how the Egyptians saw them. In reality, they are divine beasts under the chosen Pharaoh's rule."

"You mean Atem's protegee," Seto smirked.

"Are they the gods showed surrounding the millennium puzzle?" Yugi asked, pointing to the top of the second tablet, which showed three divine beasts.

"They are: Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and The Winged Dragon of Ra," Ishizu replied.

_"Translation: Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Executive Producer, and Mega Ultra Chicken,"_ Atem smirked as Yugi chuckled in reply.

"What's so funny?" Seto asked.

"Brother calls Ra _Mega Ultra Chicken_."

Seto chuckled at the name. Ishizu sighed heavily while rolling her eyes. She expected that the vessel to Yugi's soul to be of pure darkness. Ishizu also was aware that the Pharaoh was known for his childish innocents, who chose one that held no innocents. Ishizu knew her history well.

"I need help to catch those Rare Hunters, that is why I called you, Mr. Kaiba," Ishizu explained, facing Seto. "Yugi is about to face an ancient battle that will be repeated. Until then, Yugi will face a tremendous battle to obtain three god cards. The one who obtains all three, will be declared _Yu-Gi-Oh_, King of Games."

"_Yu-Gi-Oh_ huh?" Seto asked with a smudge smirk.

"Yes, here is the rare card I promised," Ishizu said, giving Seto a blue card that read Obelisk the Tormentor. "This is a symbol of trust."

"In other words, you trust me to give this card to Yugi?" Seto asked with a deep smirk.

"Actually, there's another reason I entrust this card to you. Yugi will have to win that card from you."

"Over my own dead body!" Atem declared after switching with Yugi. "_I'm_ dueling Seto for the card. Yugi can f*** with the Rare Hunters."

"Of course," Ishizu agreed. "After all, you and Yugi are destined to work together as one. Let me warn you, this Battle City will not just be any card game. It may consist of Shadow Games. The ones you faced with Pegasus will be nothing. One thing I know is that he is not cruel. Your next enemy is _cruel_ and will stop at nothing to make sure you and the Pharaoh are dead."

"In other words, we'll be facing an actual _Battle City_," Seto smirked with folded arms.

"Precisely it. Tread cautiously, this battle city will be a battle of survival. I wish you three luck," Ishizu said with a soft smile.

"Then we're done," Atem said before him and Seto walked on their way out. _"FINALLY!"_

Ishizu watched the boys leave, then loosely touched her millennium necklace, whispering, "please, save my brother."


	8. Work for Battle City

**Alright, until we get to the introductions to Battle City, from this story on, this will never be in the manga. This will be from another standpoint, like from Seto's standpoint. The only thing in the manga, is Seto testing Obelisk the Tormentor. Right now, I feel like repeating Ghost Nappa's line from the Abridged Series lol it's so hilarious. I just might add that somewhere in Battle City, because I just want to. Review please!**

Atem and Seto exited from the museum after their meeting with Ishizu. Atem drove Seto in his motorcycle to Kaiba Corporation to finish up the tournament and test out Obelisk the Tormentor. Normally, Seto would've preferred the limo, but there was no time needed to be wasted than it already had with Ishizu carrying on about what happened 3000 years ago. On the positive side, she did help Yugi regain some of his memories and Seto had gotten a very powerful god card.

When the boys made it to the company, Atem parked his motorcycle. Then, Seto got out his briefcase, located in front of Atem to prevent it from being lost. Seto sighed deeply, then made his way to his job while Atem was placing the helmets back under the seat. He caught up to his friend after placing the helmets away.

"Besides the history lectures, it wasn't so bad. Still, I prefer the bitch giving the card and us leaving on our merry way," Atem said.

"I prefer nobody wasting my valuable time. I was supposed to be back at home ten minutes ago," Seto replied.

"You work too much, you know that? You need to relax and smell the roses."

"If I did that, companies would be after my business. As if they're not already after my _hibernation_."

"I wouldn't call that _'smelling the roses.'_ I call it _you almost dying_," Atem smirked as Seto unlocked the door to his company building where he worked at.

This was the first time Atem had ever entered Seto's company, let alone his work station, which was where they were headed. Atem scanned his surroundings, the place was so confusing that he could easily get lost. They passed a directory where a map stood to show visitors where they needed to go and not to go. Atem kept following Seto to the elevator. Seto pressed the number 17 button before the boys waited, feeling the elevator lifting them up.

Atem leaned against the wall while crossing his arms. He knew how much people would kill to work at a place like this. It was HUGE, especially for a gaming company. He thought if one of the students from Domino High was to work here, it'd be the biggest News since Ami's and Yumi's new single.

After the elevator made it to the seventeenth floor, the boys walked out and made their way through the hallway. Atem could only see numbers on the doors and names overhead. In reality, Atem was nervous. He had never been in a company or office building in his life, besides doctor offices or banking offices. Seto came to a stop at a particular door with a _"Seto Kaiba"_ on the door.

The boys entered inside Seto's office, which Atem closed behind him. He smirked while scanning the place. There was a huge desk at the very front in front of the huge windows. There were sky blue walls, about five closets on each wall, some filing drawers, and a dark blue carpet. Atem, curiously, looked out the window and saw how high they were.

_"Wow,"_ Atem responded as Seto turned his head, and then showed a slight smile.

"I thought you'd know we're twenty stories up by the number on the elevator," Seto slightly teased as Atem stuck his tongue out.

"Give me a break, I've never been more than four stories up before," Atem defended with glaring eyes. "Anyways, where are the plans for Battle City?"

"They're in that closet over there," Seto replied, pointing to the middle closet on the left. "It's written in a file called_ 'Battle City,'_ you can't miss it. Also, I require you to use that desk over there." He pointed his finger on a small desk that could be mistaken for an elementary school teacher's desk with a rolling chair. There was a computer on the corner left for someone who is right handed, but other than that, it was empty. "I used to have an assistant working there until I fired her."

"For what?"

"Seducing me."

Atem couldn't hold back a chuckle. He then got out the Battle City files and turned on the computer. It was a flat screen, much to Atem's happiness. Atem waited a while for the computer to open while Seto showed a slight smirk.

"And if you're thinking about playing games like Pogo or searching porn, I'll know and limit your computer privileges. Better yet, I just might take it away," Seto said as Atem took computer paper, scrunched it in a ball, and threw it at Seto on the head. "And horsing around is permitted."

"F*** you, Seto! I don't search for f***ing porn... at least not in two years."

"My thoughts exactly."

"Kiss my ass!" Atem replied before letting out a huge sigh, then opening up Microsoft Word 2010. He typed up the rules for Battle City. Both him and Seto debated on the rules, one mostly on the anti rule on the rare cards. Since Atem knew Yugi needed three god cards to retrieve his memories, it was better to obtain them by the anti rule.

Atem bit the corner of his lip while writing out the rules. At the same time, he was also looking at the duelists' information and the levels they were on. He looked at one particular duelist and narrowed his eyes.

"Seto, you're such a asshole! Joey is not a 2 star duelist and you know that!" Atem glared.

"That amature can't duel his way out of a paper..." Seto argued.

"Joey won against Mai and Rex, whom you consider a 6 star. If I'm not mistaken, I say you're afraid that Joey will kick your f***ing ass, like you don't deserve it."

"FINE! CHANGE IT TO 5 STAR! IF YOU WANT TO ENTER THAT LOW LIFE DUELIST, THEN GO AHEAD! SEE IF I CARE!" Seto finally said with frustration. Atem changed Joey's level to a five star duelist. He knew how Seto would be unfair to people that irritated him the most. In a sense, Atem was glad that he was coe-hosting the tournament with Seto, just in case he tried to pull off something sneaky like this.

Atem also decided recheck the Battle City web page to be sure that there wasn't anything missing or mistaken. He looked into the satellite, which recorded each duel from the duel disks. There were codes on different parts of the screen and a model of the satellite. Atem couldn't read any of this.

"Seto, I don't know how to read this," Atem called out. Seto sighed, then walked over to the desk and checked the computer screen, which showed the satellite and some computer codes.

"It's to make the satellite working. If any of these codes change, we're screwed," Seto explained.

"I know that, but I'm trying to test this out to see how it gathers information."

"Mokuba will be doing that when I summon out Obelisk the Tormentor. You, on the other hand, can finish editing the web page."

"Good point. Thanks."

Atem edited some more of the web page, then continued typing out the rules to Battle City. He also opened up Seto's email in case Seto received email from companies or investors. Atem's head was starting to hurt from all the multitasking the boy was working with. Several companies and investors also happened to email Seto, which he never had time to read. There was also the pilot Seto was to hire for the grand entrance to Battle City.

Atem answered the letter, since it was for Battle City, and saw the price. He entered the Kaiba Corp. banking and saw the amount it had.

"SHIT!" Atem replied as Seto darted his eyes at his friend. "Seto, you're trying to afford a helicopter over the price..."

"They _always_ do that, Atem!" Seto said, then sighing while rolling his eyes. "Look over the contract."

Atem nodded and his eyebrows rose, responding, "oh... they only demand twelve-hundred a month."

_"No duh,"_ Seto replied while rolling his eyes. "That's _why_ I got the helicopter."

"Ah."

Seto and Atem stayed inside the office working for five hours straight. Atem drove straight to work after that while Seto worked on Obelisk the Tormentor. He tested the duel disk he had just finished after several tests. This would be the Battle City Duel Disk everyone would be using in the tournament. Seto used a robotic simulation that could duel on its own. It was copying his own strategy of how to duel.

What really shocked the employers, including Mokuba, was that Seto used his own deck for the computer to duel with. The level was at its highest. Seto was very confident, since he built a new deck for Battle City. This one would defeat Atem, there was no doubt in the rich boy's mind. During the whole duel, Seto thought about how Atem faced the three Blue-Eyes with courage and believed in his deck. This was something that even Seto knew was part of winning a duel: _believing in yourself and the deck you built._

Atem returned from work after five and a half hours, realizing it was at least 7:00 at night. He checked on Seto, who was testing the duel disk. He had finished summoning Obelisk the Tormentor, giving Atem the chance to catch the action. Seto had been working on this duel disk for a long time. Mokuba seemed excited that the duel disk was a success. Atem watched Seto exit from the room, used to test his new invention.

"Glad to see you watched the show," Seto smirked.

"And I believe we should be done, for now. How about a break?" Atem asked as Seto gave him a glare. "This is what I mean by you acting too much like a businessman! You never get a chance to just sit down, relax, and play video games."

"As President of a major cooperation, I don't have time for any of that. Besides, what would you do if you were in charge of Kaiba Corp?" Seto asked sarcastically.

"Well, first thing I do is, _screw the rules_," Atem rapped. Mokuba joined along.

_"Like a boss,"_ Mokuba sang.

_"Summon a dragon."_

_"Like a boss."_

_"Invent a duel disk."_

_"Like a boss."_

_"Jump out the window."_

_"Like a boss."_

_"Rescue Mokuba."_

_"Like a boss."_

_"Hang up the phone."_

_"Like a boss."_

_"See giant rocks."_

_"Like a boss."_

_"Collect the god cards."_

_"Like a boss."_

_"Fly a jet."_

_"Like a boss."_

_"Write a check."_

_"Like a boss."_

_"Fly in a copter."_

_"Like a boss."_

_"Be an asshole."_

"You're _soooooo_ hilarious!" Seto replied sarcastically as Atem and Mokuba gawked up laughing. "I must say, that's one impressive rap."

"Thanks, but seriously. When are you gonna start laying low for once? Just being a kid?" Atem asked while Seto sighed deeply.

"Perhaps never," Seto smirked in reply, then his face changed serious. "We also need to package these duel disks up for tomorrow."

"You've got to be f***ing kidding me! I just got back from work!"

"Welcome to my life."

_"Ugh shit!"_

Seto, Mokuba, Atem, and other employers started packaging the duel disks for Battle City in boxes. They were to be sold in stores for other duelists to sign up and get started. There were at least over 100 duel disks to package up. Luckily, making the boxes and wraps was the machine's job. Though, Atem was working continuously, he didn't get the chance to answer his text messages from his friends.

Atem started sweating from the heat of the room and the amount of work he was doing. This morning he was getting bored, then cramped butt and sore fingers, then sore legs, now he was both hot and sore. Atem was complaining in his mind when he was going to get a break. Even if Yugi were to take over, he'd be changed into a tired and sore body. The whole day just seemed longer than usual. It made Atem wish he was in school.

By the end of five hours, the packages were all ready to go. Mokuba was excited that their work was finally done. Seto sighed happily, wanting some rest, but he wasn't the only one. Atem was out by the time the trio got inside the limo. Mokuba felt tired too, but he still managed to stay awake.

"Poor guy. Atem must've worked for at least..." Mokuba said, trying to count the hours. "_Fifteen hours?_ damn!"

"Guess he knows now what my life is like," Seto smirked, then stared at his friend, feeling a little pity. Atem wasn't used to this kind of work. "When he became my rival, I'd use the advantage of school breaks and an hour break to become stronger... he has no idea how hard it is to be a kid, for me. Dad took that away from me when he freakin committed suicide."

"But didn't you plan on taking Kaiba Corp?"

"I did," Seto smirked while shrugging. "But that was before I knew the hell I was going through." He sighed, then stared out the window. "When Battle City begins, I hope... I hope we both can put the past behind us once and for all."

_"Seto..."_

Seto heard a buzzing sound from Atem's pocket. Atem was so tired, he slept through the vibrating phone. Seto sighed, then flipped the phone and answered, "hello?"

"_Kaiba?_ What are you doing calling from Atem's phone?" Joey asked demandingly.

"You're friends out like a light. Is there anything you need me to tell him when he wakes up?"

"Tell Atem that he has to be at the hospital to give Serenity encouragement for her operation at nine."

"Very well. I'm sure you know about Battle City tomorrow. That's when the announcement and rules will be explained. Until then, _don't bother Atem!_"

"HEY LOOK, RICH BOY! JUST SO YOU KNOW, I..."

Seto hung up, not caring what Joey had to say. He muttered, _"good riddance."_

"Should we let him stay with us overnight?" Mokuba asked, staring at Atem.

"He uses our showers, why shouldn't we?" Seto asked sarcastically.

The limo parked by the Kaiba Mansion and everyone got out. Seto flipped Atem over his shoulder and carried him inside the mansion. Seto laid him in one of the guest beds, then went to bed himself. The whole day was a long one, but everything was ready for Battle City. Never in Atem's life, had the boy experienced a whole day with nothing but _work_. This was the most tiresome day in his young life.

**Flightfoot: Not everyone is interested in history. Even my mother gets bored with hearing about history. At least Atem wasn't doing what Adam (Atem's reincarnet) from Fate's Affect did by dressing up as a Pharaoh and saying _"I shall cut off your head and feed it to the gods." _Yugi rofl. _"How dare you laugh at my gorgeous look. I am pharaoh, bow before me you pitiful scum." _Lol he really did say that and Ishizu got REALLY annoyed. Marik joined along, which didn't help the situation. I see any modern version of Atem doing that sort of thing. In fact, if there was a perfect part, I would have this Atem dress up like that and play out a littlekuriboh reference from the flashback.**


	9. The Gathering

**Now this is when Battle City begins. I'm trying to fit the different events before the first duel begins. This will be the introduction, so there won't be any dueling for a long while or at least will be in the next chapter. Review please!**

Atem moaned, slowly opening his eyes from the bright light of the morning sun that slightly burned them. He turned his head and noticed it was 7:52. He sighed deeply while staring at the ceiling. From what he could tell, he slept overnight at the Kaiba Mansion. Last he remembered, he was inside the limo. He guessed he went to sleep while riding in the limo.

Yugi's soft moaning was heard by Atem's ear. Yugi was still sleeping soundlessly, not that Atem could blame him. They both had worked yesterday from morning to night. It seemed like work would _never_ end. It was no wonder Seto was always so grumpy all the time. At least the rest of the tournament should be work free, aside from packing for the finals.

Atem gently rubbed his hand up and down Yugi's back while continually hearing that soft moan in his ear. Yugi seemed like a little cub sleeping on his mother's tummy. It's little legs bent, its front paws beside its face, and that little gentle sleepy face. Though, for Yugi, his arms were wrapped around Atem's neck or waist, his legs were always crossed when he slept, and only half his body was on Atem, the bottom half was just beside his legs. Even when they snuggled, Yugi was always on top of Atem's chest area.

After about ten minutes, Yugi finally woke up. His eyelids slowly fluttered open before he started rubbing them, letting out a yawn. Atem chuckled as they both sat up on the bed back to back. He realized at this point that he was still wearing the same outfit he wore yesterday, not PJ's. He also noted the millennium puzzle on the night stand.

Atem took the puzzle by the chain and hung it around his neck. He felt Yugi's spirit inside the puzzle like a heartbeat.

_"Good morning, brother,"_ Yugi greeted.

"Morning Yugi. We were pretty busy yesterday, huh?" Atem asked with a small smile.

_"Yep. We should probably shower before getting ready for the day."_

Atem agreed and showered in the nearby bathroom. The shower heads were spraying from every direction. It felt so warm and sensational. Atem counted that Seto had at least six bathrooms in his mansion and four of them had Jacuzzi. This one was just a shower, no bathtub.

After showering, Atem dressed in some new clothes he left behind when staying overnight four days ago. He wore a white tank top, some black jeans with a sliver belt, and a black hoody hung around like a cape. Atem noticed Seto on his desk typing stuff on his laptop with his same emotionless look. Atem smiled, then slid on the railing, which made a wide curve.

Seto raised his head up and noticed Atem as soon as he landed his feet on the tiled floor.

"About time you woke up. Wheeler called while you were asleep, said for you to be at the hospital to see your girlfriend at nine," Seto said plainly.

"Thanks," Atem replied while walking toward his friend, then peering at the laptop. "Looks like we're ready."

"You better be here at five."

"On time, as usual," Atem smirked as Seto replied with his own smirk. "So, you think we'll run into the Rare Hunters and retrieve the god cards?"

"There's no doubt. Those god cards are legendary, powerful, anyone who has them must have a _powerful_ deck."

"They're also the key to Yugi's memories. You bet I'm gonna win those god cards."

"Not unless I win them first," Seto pointed out with his smirk.

"Perhaps, that is _if_ you win."

"There's only one way to find out. Mark my words, _I will win_."

"We'll see. Just know I still hold my record."

"Hey ya, Atem!" Mokuba greeted excitedly in his PJ's. He ran over between Seto and Atem, then jumping up and down. Atem started laughing, then picked up Mokuba from behind, then gave him a nuggy on the head. _"HEEEEEY!"_

"Ok, ok, I'll stop," Atem said while laughing.

"You also need to dress, we have business very soon," Seto reminded Mokuba.

"Ok!" Mokuba grinned before running upstairs to his room.

"I also need to be ready for Serenity. She's about to start her surgery," Atem said while sliding his arms through his hoody. He then dug into his pocket and found some keys. "I'll be back soon. Thanks for letting me stay. I hope Mom isn't too worried."

"I let her know you were with me... actually, your grandpa, I should say," Seto assured.

"Good. Thanks again!" Atem thanked before leaving out the door.

Atem ran out to his motorcycle, which he left at the Kaiba Mansion when working on the tournament. He turned it on and rode on his way to the hospital where Serenity was waiting. Atem kept his eyebrows furrowed while driving down the highway. The wind blew against his face with one thing on the boy's mind, _Serenity_. She needed Atem's support for her most important day.

Atem finally reached the hospital, parking his ride, before reaching Serenity's room. Serenity was found in her room, clutching onto her legs with a nerve-wrecking expression on her face. Atem couldn't blame his girlfriend for feeling this way. He smiled and knocked on the side of the doorway. Serenity poked her face up from her legs and made the widest grin that stood out more than anything else. Though, she couldn't see Atem, she knew that curtain pattern of the knock meant that it was the love of her life.

Atem walked, and then sat next to Serenity on the bed before placing a kiss on her cheek. She couldn't help, but let out a small giggle.

"Good morning, bright eyes," Atem greeted brightly.

"Good morning," Serenity replied while holding Atem's hand and rubbing her thumb on top of it.

"Did you hear about Battle City?"

"Yes, it seems exciting. Joey says he's entering too."

"No surprise there. It's a good thing I'm coe-hosting the tournament. I swear, Seto can be such a jerk sometimes. He was making Joey a low level duelist. Now, how about that?"

Serenity made a cute little giggle. Atem had told his girlfriend about the people he knew and became close to. The only secret kept from Serenity was Yugi and it was only because that story would be unbelievable, literally. Atem dug into his pocket to retrieve a small white box. Serenity peered at the small box with curiosity. Atem opened it and revealed a gold necklace with a small heart-shaped locket. Serenity gasped in delight while carefully grasping the small gold chain of the locket.

"It's... It's _beautiful_!" Serenity said, holding a surprising smile. Atem unhooked the chain and wrapped it around Serenity's neck, then hooked the necklace in place as the heart-shaped locket hung about the neck. "I love it!"

"I also happen to put in a picture there too," Atem said as he opened the locket to show a picture of himself. Serenity looked closely, trying to make out the picture, despite the size. "It's something for you to have, so that you can think about me no matter how far apart we might be."

_"Thank you,"_ Serenity whispered oh so gently before locking her soft lips against Atem's. Atem curved his tongue around those lips while carefully cupping Serenity's face. Serenity looked deeply into her boyfriend's eyes, which were blurry to see. She felt depressed that she could not make out any picture no matter how close she'd look. Though, she would always remember the taste of Atem's lips and the sound of that gentle voice. Serenity placed her head against Atem's chest and let out a heavy sigh. "I wish I can see you."

"You will, I know your wish will come true. Even at the tournament, I'll be cheering for you."

"So will I. I know you can win the tournament. You've always had a brilliant talent for games."

"Well, my grandpa does own a game shop. I remember teaching you how to play Solitaire."

Serenity giggled, then said, "I want us to play a game after my surgery. I miss us playing silly little games and you letting me win _every single time_."

Atem rolled his eyes before replying, "I kinda miss that too. You're the only person I would let win any game. I still am annoyed for you taking away my pride."

"HEY! You're the one who let me win," Serenity smirked before laying a kiss on her boyfriend's cheek. "I love you anyways."

"I love you too. After your surgery, we'll celebrate by playing any game you choose, that is if I'm not busy trying to win the Battle City Tournament. I do have a deadline."

"I understand. It'll be a date."

"A date it is!"

"I hope Joey makes it to my surgery tonight."

"I know he will and if he doesn't, I'll kick his butt for ya."

Serenity laughed along with Atem. They both enjoyed each other's company just by being there. Atem was anxious for Serenity's operation to be over and done so that Serenity could see again. She deserved to see the world with her very own eyes and explore it with them. Everything that Atem and Joey had worked for was finally starting to pay off. Even Yugi agreed with this.

Atem spent some more time with Serenity at the hospital for at least several hours. After that, he headed off to work. Atem worked at his job for five hours before reaching the Kaiba Mansion on time. The limo stood there waiting for Atem to arrive at the time he was suppose to arrive. He entered inside the limo, and then it took off.

Atem looked out the window, then started noticing the duelists gathering around for the introduction to Battle City. He felt a smirk curving his lips as the crowd of duelists spread wider and wider. There were duelists Atem was very familiar with like Rex, Weevil, Mako, Mai, etc. Excitement filled Atem though his flesh and bone. He was ready to duel in this Battle City Tournament.

"You ready for this?" Seto asked as Atem nodded.

"You know it!" Atem replied right before the limo came to a hult.

Seto and Atem exited from the limo while all the duelists started talking amongst themselves. A few of them quieted down, then more and more also quieted down to hear what the hosts of the tournament had to say. Seto showed a slight smirk while Atem curved his lips inside his mouth. He was having slight stage fright. He never had had to make a speech in front of an audience before, let alone have it be aired on national TV. There were several cameras surrounding the hosts.

"HELLO, FELLOW DUELISTS! I AM SETO KAIBA, THIS IS ATEM MOTO, CHAMPION OF DUELIST KINGDOM AND COE-HOST OF THE BATTLE CITY TOURNAMENT! WELCOME!" Seto announced as all the duelists cheered with a roaring sound. Atem took a deep breath, knowing his cue.

"Welcome duelists! I am Atem Moto!" Atem announced as sweat started pouring down his face. Everyone was staring at him with those glimmering eyes. He knew he could feel his body shaking from stage fright. "Starting tomorrow, this city will turn into a tournament _Battle City_! All vehicles will be prohibited from driving the streets of this tournament! There will be extended routs for those who are going to work and police showing the routs, so it is assured that no vehicles will be shown around these parts!" Everyone roared in their loud cheers. Seto showed a smirk, which told Atem that he did good in his speech.

"Now, there are rules to the tournament. First off, you must have a Duel Disk..." Seto said while Atem turned to open a small box, and then showed the audience the duel disk Seto Kaiba had created for Battle City. "... made by me and owned by Kaiba Corporation! The directions on how to use this will be provided inside the box!" Atem turned the duel disk, where everyone could see the top of it, which showed five slots. "As you can see, there are five slots on the duel disk and a sixth one provided for field spell cards! These will also be where you will put six locator cards!" He placed six clear plastic cards on the duel disk and showed the map of Domino City. "These are only testing cards, the real ones you will be using will show the location where six finalists will enter the Battle City Finals! You must have six of these cards to know the location! If you have one locator card missing..." He removed one locator card and the map completely vanished. "... you will not know the rout!" Everyone started talking amongst themselves. More than likely, they were wondering how these locator cards worked like this. Atem showed a slight smirk as Seto continually kept his facial expression. "I bet you're wondering how these work? Each card has a holographic mark, which shows the map and location! When all six are together, they can make a clear rout! This way, you won't run into an _incomplete map_ or have two pieces that are identical! This can only work when you have the Kaiba Corp. Duel Disk!" Everyone seemed to be fine, giving nods and _'yes'.'_ "Each duel disk will provide one locator card! Use it wisely, because if you lose all six locator cards, you're automatically disqualified! Also, if you have more than six or give your locator card to someone else, even to someone not participating, you're also disqualified!" Everyone nodded and seemed fine with the rule of using locator cards.

"The second rule is that you must have a rare card! When dueling against other players, we will be using the Anti Rule, the rule of giving away your rare card and locator card to the winner of the duel! Remember, it must be one locator card and one rare card, no more and no less! Anyone who does not follow this rule, will also be disqualified! Kaiba Corperation's computers will pick up on the rare card each of you will be trading, to be sure there is no cheating involved or just trading any random card!" Atem announced as everyone muttered other things amongst themselves. "Mr. Kaiba and I will give you examples of rare cards by showing our rare card that we will give to anyone who wins against us!" Atem and Seto showed their cards, which made everyone cheer with loud roars. Seto held Obelisk the Tormentor and Atem held Dark Magician. "If you have no rare card, even with locator cards, you will be disqualified from the tournament! Be sure you have more than one rare card, if you are planning on continuing this tournament! Be sure you buy yourself a pack of Duel Monsters cards, so you may have more than one rare card! Rare cards will be selling at maximum at your local toy or game store!" Everyone cheered loudly in a loud scream, which could pierce anyone's eardrums.

"You also must be of a level 3 duelist or higher! Anyone below this level will not participate!" Seto declared as the cheerful roar was heard once again. "We will also have security around to make sure there are no unfair trades, cheating, fights _unless with cards_, and NO EXCEPTIONS! If you have any problems, you can talk to me or my partner! If either of us see any rule breaking that seems unfitting to us, you will have to abide to us! Any questions?"

Several duelists rose their hands and Seto pointed to one of the fellow duelists. He seemed like some tough duelist who was in it to win it.

"What if _you're_ the one dueling against one of us and cheat?" the duelist asked.

"If any of you or any fellow duelists are dueling against Mr. Kaiba and he's doing something that you believe is cheating, you can take it to me! The same can go vice versa! If I am doing something that you or other fellow duelists believe is cheating, you can take it to Mr. Kaiba! If there is a tag-team duel and both believe we're both cheating, then you can take it to Mokuba Kaiba, who is not playing in the tournament!" Atem replied. "Any other questions?" Other people raised their hands and Seto pointed at a young woman with brunet hair.

"I heard there were _banned cards_, how do we know which cards we should use and which we shouldn't?" The woman duelist asked.

"The duel disk also provides the rules we just explained and the cards, which are banned from this tournament. You will also notice this when you try to place them on the duel disk. The banned cards will not show... unless of course, they're _forged_," Seto explained as the woman nodded. "I'll take one more question!" Everyone rose their hands and he chose a young preteen around the middle row.

"Is there an age limit to dueling in this tournament?" The boy asked.

"There is no limit to age, unless you don't know how to read! Though, if you're handy caped, as if blind, you are allowed to use any means to read or select your cards! Though, you are not allowed to have someone else duel in your place. If you happen to injure yourself, you may have a three hour break! If it's too long, then you are disqualified! Medical needs will be provided! If you have a medical condition, which makes you too sick to play, you can't enter!" Seto explained, he then pointed his index finger in the air. "THE BATTLE CITY TOURNAMENT WILL BEGIN IN THREE DAYS! REMEMBER TO GET YOUR DUEL DISK AND IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS, BE SURE TO CALL THE KAIBA CORP. NUMBER!" Everyone cheered and clapped loudly as Seto and Atem left the stage and entered back into the limo. It was getting late and Atem needed to get home as soon as possible before his folks got worried sick.

Seto had the limo driver take Atem home to the game shop with his duel disk that was already provided for him as the coe-host of the Battle City Tournament. Uka noticed her son coming though the door and plopping himself onto the couch. He had one arm over his stomach and the other over his forehead. His face was red and from the looks of it, he seemed very stressed.

"Welcome home, Atem," Uka greeted with her kind and warm smile. "How're things at the tournament?"

"Stressful, though everyone seems excited about the tournament. So far, there were no complaints," Atem replied while staring at the ceiling.

"If you're hungry, we saved you some supper in the fridge."

"Thanks Ma."

"Just let me know if you need anything."

"I will."

Uka walked upstairs as Atem let out a deep sigh. He was glad this whole day was almost over. The clock read 7:22, it was surprising that Atem didn't have sunburn from being outside for two hours straight doing that speech. Though, the sun was setting and he didn't have that fair of skin. _Still..._

Yugi appeared at the foot of the couch, sitting Indian style. He seemed very excited. The Battle City Tournament would help retrieve his lost memories. Atem was willing to help, especially since he was coe-hosting the tournament. Yugi started thinking about what his life was once like thousands of years ago. There was so much on his mind, he couldn't think of anything else.

Atem instantly fell asleep with his brother's thoughts streaming through his mind. By the time he woke up, it was 8:31. He decided to eat some dinner. It was what Uka and Solomon had earlier while Atem was making his speech for the Battle City Tournament. It was a burger, some mashed potatoes, and broccoli. Atem also had some soda to go with his food. After he ate, he got on his computer to play a few games.

After a few minutes of playing, Atem heard his cell phone ring and answered it. It was Serenity, much to Atem's happiness.

"Hello?" Atem answered.

_"Atem, where's Joey?"_ Serenity asked.

"Shouldn't he be with you?"

_"He is, but he's not here! I'm worried, Atem!"_

"Hold on, Serena, I'm sure he's just running late. I'll call him and see what's holding him up."

_"Thanks!"_

Atem hung up and dialed Joey's phone number. He hated it when Joey never made it to important meetings on time, especially being there for his sister. The cell phone kept ringing and ringing. Atem tapped his foot on the floor impatiently until he heard the phone answer.

_"Hello?"_ Joey answered in a horse voice.

"Joey, what the hell are you doing? You know you're supposed to be at your sister's tonight!" Atem glared.

_"I was! What time... OH SHIT! Have I been out _that long?"

"_OUT?_ JOEY, HAVE YOU BEEN DRINKING?"

_"No man! Some thugs just snuck up behind me and... YEOW! OH GOD! ATEM, I THINK I SPRAINED SOMETHING!"_ Joey cried, which made Atem worry. Joey never made excuses when he was late for something, unless it involved games or food. _"JOEY! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"_

"I'm at the alleyway by Florret Avenue."

_"Hold on, I'm coming for ya!"_ Atem told Joey before hanging up. He quickly ran out the door before getting the chance to let his mom and grandpa know he left.

Atem turned on his motorcycle, which Seto had his men place at the Game Shop, and left driving on the dark streets. Fear swept through his mind as the drove along the streets. He followed each rout to Florret Avenue and slowed down as soon as he got there to find Joey. Atem found his best friend at a narrow alleyway, trying to walk with one foot. He seemed to have been mugged by a couple of guys or a gang.

Atem got off his ride and ran to his friend, helping him walk to the motorcycle. Joey climbed onto the motorcycle and hung onto his friend.

"Are you okay?" Atem asked.

"I think so. They didn't take anything from me as far as I know," Joey replied.

"What'd they look like?"

"They had cloaks, it was too dark to recognize, but I remember this guy's face. White hair, and..." Joey replied, while reaching for his deck. _"Wait a sec..."_ He searched through his deck and realized something. "DAMON! MY RED-EYES! THAT BASTARD TOOK DAMON!"

"Oh crap! They were probably Rare Hunters. They're known to steal and counterfeit cards. I'll take you to Serena, then we'll worry about finding your Red-Eyes," Atem promised before driving off on the motorcycle. He could hear Joey muttering in the background.

_"Damon... I'm so sorry... I... I'm so sorry,"_ Joey muttered in tears. He felt like a part of himself was ripped from him. He wanted to hear Damon's voice one more time, to see the red-eyed warrior that brought courage to the blond boy. Atem vowed that if he ever laid eyes on the very person who did this to Joey, he would make that guy pay dearly. Yugi felt the same way.

They made it to the hospital and ran up the stairs, not waiting for the elevator to come down. They noticed the doctors at Serenity's door, trying to convince the girl to open the door. The girl would not dare come out of the room for her operation.

"Serenity!" Joey cried out, running passed his mother and toward the door. "Listen, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you! I'm here now!"

"Serena, everything's gonna be okay, understand? Joey ran into trouble on his way here and was hurt! He's okay now!" Atem explained to Serenity through the door. There was a long pause, and then Serenity opened the door with stained tears.

_"I'm scared,"_ Serenity wept as Joey embraced his sister into his arms. "Joey, I'm so afraid."

"You're gonna be fine, Serenity. I promise," Joey whispered.

"And I'll come along too. I know you must be scared silly," Atem said with his warm smile as Serenity nodded.

Atem and Joey walked with Serenity side by side and lead her to the rolling mat where she laid on her back and the doctors rolled her to the operating room. The doctors put the girl to sleep, and then began the surgery. Of course, nobody was allowed to enter the operating room, but Atem watched from the window as the doctors did their work. He had never been more nervous than he was at this moment. The doctors took several hours to complete the operation. Atem drove himself home and was able to get to sleep at and hour till midnight.


	10. Battle City Begins

**NEXT CHAPTER! I will add something else to this chapter that isn't in the manga, just because I think in reality, they'd have this in a tournament. I also want to start something with Marik. Review please!**

Atem felt an extreme ice cold liquid being poured on his upper body before finding himself rolling off the bed and onto the ground. He immediately saw Seto carrying a bucket and ice cubes on his lap. Apparently, Seto had poured a bucket of ice water on Atem to wake him up in the morning for the Battle City Ceremony.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Atem yelled before snatching the bucket and whacking Seto over the head with it. He ducked right on time before letting out a punch right on Atem's stomach.

"You're the one to talk! It's time to get ready for Battle City, now get your ass up!" Seto said plainly before walking on his way toward the door. He turned his head with a slight smirk. "By the way, you should stop talking nonsense in your sleep. You sound like a homo."

_"I'm so getting you for that,"_ Atem seethed through his teeth before Seto closed the door. "Bitch."

_"I thought it was funny,"_ Yugi said before giving out a chuckle.

Atem rolled his eyes while slipping off his clothes to change into new ones. He was able to dry, dress, brush, and clean himself to prepare for Battle City. Atem knew that he had to make himself look extra nice for the Ceremony of Battle City. He straightened his black suit while glaring at himself in the mirror. He hated dressing up in a suit, especially one with a tie, which is why he didn't wear one.

Seto entered inside and showed a slight smirk.

"No tie?" Seto asked, noticing the suit Atem was wearing.

"Kill me before I wear a damn tie," Atem replied with furrowed eyebrows.

Seto dug into his pocket and retrieved a bow tie. He wrapped it around Atem's neck as Atem responded with a death glare.

"Is that better?" Seto asked.

"Not even close, but better than the tie," Atem said, still showing a death glare.

"Glad to see you're taking the bow tie okay."

"Why do we have to have a f***ing Ceremony where we dress up like some sort of rich barbie doll?"

"Every duelist needs a time to relax and enjoy a good party before dueling."

"I say we get our decks and duel instead of dressing like prima donnas."

Seto chuckled while rolling his eyes. Atem followed Seto, who wore a white suit and a black tie. The two boys walked downstairs where they met Uka, who was preparing breakfast. She eyed her son and his new outfit. She showed a cheerful smile.

"Well, don't you boys look handsome?" Uka said.

"Glad to finally get a compliment," Seto replied as Atem replied with a glare and a sigh.

"You know, I _really_ hate you," Atem muttered as Uka chuckled, then scooped each egg and put them on a plate. Each of the plates also had a piece of toast and grits.

"Breakfast?" Uka asked as the boys sat at the table to eat the breakfast prepared for them. "Dad says you boys have a big day ahead of you."

"It's the day of Battle City, Mom," Atem replied.

"The whole town square will be the tournament until the final eight," Seto informed.

"I see. You need anything to drink?" Uka asked.

"Coffee," Seto replied.

"Same here," Atem replied.

Uka smiled cheerfully and prepared two cups of coffee. Seto came to the Moto's more often than before Duelist Kingdom. Uka had always enjoyed Atem inviting his friends over, though it surprised her when Seto started coming over. He was known for being in charge of a large company and was the Duel Monster's champion. At first, Uka felt nervous, having an important person over everyday, though she grew used to it. She learned Seto was no different than any regular teenage boy. Uka had grown fond of Seto and his friendship with Atem. Though, she never learned about the incident that happened during the Death T incident. All Uka knew was that there was something wrong with Seto and he fell into a coma.

Seto and Atem ate their breakfast and drank their coffee. They knew a healthy breakfast was important before the Ceremony. After finishing breakfast, they placed their dishes in the sink and made their way out the door.

"Good luck on the tournament. I'll be cheering you boys on!" Uka said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Moto," Seto thanked. Atem just nodded.

"Mom... I love you," Atem said.

"I love you too," Uka replied before the boys left out the door.

Atem and Seto entered into the limo and the driver drove off down the road toward the Ceremony at the Kaiba Dome that Seto built in Kaiba Land in place of the Death T tournament. During the ride, Atem kept messing with his bow tie, which felt weird around his neck. Seto let out a small chuckle as Atem adjusted his collar from messing with his bow tie.

"You're amusing, you know that?" Seto smirked.

"You're an asshole, you know that?" Atem replied annoyed.

"Yes."

"Screw you."

"We're here!" The driver announced.

"Thank you," Seto thanked the driver before him and Atem exited from the limo.

A huge crowd cheered loudly as Atem and Seto walked through the carpet pathway to the Kaiba Dome. Once they entered, they noticed many duelists with suits and ties. The women wore fancy dresses meant for a school prom. There was a buffet bar with a punch bowl, tea, some triangle sandwiches, some wraps, piggies in a blanket, and small cups and plates.

"Please tell me we're not at a tea party," Atem complained.

"That's the snack table. We have a bar, you know," Seto reminded.

"Still seems like a tea party to me."

"ATEM!" A familiar voice cried out. Atem turned his head to find Mai running up to him with a short purple dress, a black wrap around her waist and straps over her shoulders, and sparkles on the skirt of the dress. Long high heeled boots were shown on Mai's feet that echoed with every click.

"Mai!" Atem greeted before the two gave a warm hug. "It's been a while. How are ya?"

"Swell. Boy, don't you look handsome," Mai smirked while straightening Atem's bow tie.

"Is that an insult or a compliment?"

"A little bit of both."

"You can enjoy the party, but you need to at the stage in 30 minutes," Seto said.

"Aye aye captain!" Atem replied before Seto left from Atem and Mai.

"So, you're the coe-host for the tournament huh? You're lucky," Mai complimented. "How much is he paying ya?"

"I'm not getting paid. This is voluntary," Atem corrected.

"Not getting paid? What a ripoff!"

"Seto's my friend. He doesn't need to pay me a cent for helping him out."

"Whatever, I'm just saying."

"YO ATEM!" Joey cried out, running maniacally toward the two. He panted in and out with a green suit and dark green tie. "I've been looking everywhere for ya! You seem to be busier than usual."

"Sorry. At least I can be somewhat relaxed now," Atem said with a small smile. "I'm gonna get myself a drink. You wanna join along?"

"I might get myself a martini," Mai responded.

"Cool, just don't tell Ma," Atem smirked as Joey chuckled while rolling his eyes.

The trio walked to the bar and ordered one martini for Mai and two red wine glasses for Atem and Joey. The drinks were given and the three gave out their Drinking Cards. These cards assured that the duelists were allowed to drink. In order for any duelist, entering the Ceremony, to be allowed to buy a drink or two, he or she had to sign up for Drinking Cards. These cards can be given if the duelist showed his or her ID, proving that he or she was _20 or older_. Atem was given this card for being the coe-host of Battle City, of course Seto didn't care that Atem was under drinking age. Joey was given his own card by showing his ID that was fixed to show he was 20 when he was really 16.

The trio saluted, then clanged their glasses before taking a sip.

"So, tell me, how's your sister doing, Joey?" Mai asked.

"The surgery started last night. I'm hoping to give her courage by playing this tournament," Joey replied.

"Same here. I also want to collect the god cards for Yugi. He says that they will help him retrieve his memories," Atem said.

"Yugi's memories?" Mai asked.

"Seto and I met this woman named Ishizu. She carries a millennium item like me, Pegasus, and Ryan. From what she said, Yugi was once a pharaoh of Egypt and saved it from some sort of destruction,_ I guess._ He sealed his soul inside the puzzle and wiped his memory clean," Atem explained while staring at the location of his puzzle, which was inside the pocket of the black suit. Nobody would notice that there was an ancient puzzle in there.

"You mean those Egyptian god cards you and Kaiba were talking about?" Mai asked as Atem nodded in reply.

"I want to help Yugi gain his memories, though I will have to face a new enemy."

"New enemy? What's his name?" Joey asked.

"I... _don't know_," Atem replied, cradling his puzzle inside his coat pocket.

_"Whoever he is, I'm sure we can beat 'em,"_ Yugi said as Atem gave his brother a half smirk.

"Yugi seems to be up for it!" Atem said.

"I know you guys can take whoever this new enemy is," Joey cheered, pumping his fist up.

"All I know are the enemies I do know and those are the duelists we'll be facing," Mai said, eying the duelists she recognized from Duelist Kingdom.

"Hey, there's Ryan!" Atem said, spotting Ryan from a distance. "I'm gonna hang around with him. I'll just leave you two alone."

"Uh Atem..." Joey said, blushing cherry red.

"Later guys!"

Atem ran off, leaving Joey and Mai alone. He figured it was about time Joey got himself a girlfriend, especially since he had been dying to get one since day one. Atem greeted Ryan and gave him a guy hug.

"Ryan, so you're entering too? I'm surprised Seto let you in," Atem said.

"Since I never entered any tournament, I did play a few simulation games in Kaiba Land. It recorded me to be a level 7," Ryan explained.

"That's great! I'm glad you were able to participate."

"Thanks. Nice outfit by the way," Ryan teased as Atem sighed in annoyance. Ryan wore a dark gray suit, a silver undershirt, and a black bow tie.

"Look who's talking."

"I think both of you look ridiculous. Then again, I should be the one to talk," a new voice replied with a slight smirk up his lips. Atem and Ryan turned their heads towards this mysterious duelist. His hair was blond, but dark skinned. He held dark violet eyes and wore a white suit and a light tan tie.

"And who the hell are you?" Ryan asked rudely.

"Namu Marang. I'm from Cairo, Egypt," Namu introduced, taking out his hand to shake.

"I'm Atem and this is Ryan," Atem introduced, taking Namu's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"It's still strange for you to show up while we're talking," Ryan glared rudely.

"Sorry. I'm just new here and I'm... _looking for someone_," Namu replied with squinted eyes.

"Who is it?" Atem asked curiously.

"A curtain _opponent_ I'm planning on defeating soon enough. I'm... mostly entering to get my revenge," Namu admitted.

"He must've done something bad."

_"He did,"_ Namu said, showing a dark expression. It then turned cheerful. "So, why are you guys entering, besides Spiky here creaming mop head."

"I'm just here for pure fun and to spend time with my friends," Ryan replied, eying Atem.

"I'm also here for that and to help two loved ones," Atem replied.

"I suppose that's better than my reasoning," Namu grinned happily as the three laughed aloud.

"So, what's it like in Egypt? Do you get to see pyramids?" Atem asked.

"Alot actually. I spent all my life there as a kid... at least underground," Namu said as the boys continued to listen. "Most of my life, I lived underground with my parents and sister. We always had each other."

"Wow, that really sucks, man," Ryan said. "Living underground."

"It's fine. I'm not underground anymore and I get to kick your asses," Namu smirked with crossed arms.

"In your dreams. They don't call me the King of Games for my good looks," Atem smirked, putting on a pose.

_"Showoff,"_ Ryan snorted.

Namu, for a second, narrowed his eyes a bit and scanned Ryan and Atem. He noticed a slight bump under Ryan's suit and a gold underneath the white shirt. Namu bit the corner of his lip as a slight smirk formed on his lips. The boys turned their heads back to Namu.

"I will be wishing both of you luck. I hope to duel both of you in the near future," Namu said.

"I wish to duel you too, Namu. Who knows, maybe I'll win myself a god card," Atem shrugged.

"I hear they're very hard to get. There's the Winged Dragon of Ra and Slifer the Sky Dragon."

"You mean Slifer the Executive Producer and Mega Alter Chicken."

The boys burst out laughing, so much that they began coughing. Namu was able to breathe normally again, then faced Atem with a huge smirk.

"You're funny. Maybe you could help me get my revenge," Namu smirked with each arm around his new friends.

"Sure. As long as you don't kill anyone," Atem teased as the boys laughed again.

"Nice one and thanks," Namu thanked with a devious smirk.

"I don't know about you, but I'm ditching the suit," Ryan said before taking off his coat and wrapping it over a chair.

"Same here. This thing is giving me heat stroke," Atem complained before also wrapping his coat around the back of his chair.

Namu, Ryan, and Atem walked side by side across the tiled floor before their eyes turned hallow while still walking. The three made a circle with Ryan and Atem facing Namu with hollowed eyes. Namu revealed under his coat to be a millennium item in the shape of a rod. The item was kept hidden under his suit from the sight of everyone else.

"How about starting Battle City, _Atem_, you find the one with the millennium puzzle and give me his location? If you ever contact with Yugi, don't destroy him. I'll be doing that," Namu smirked.

"Yes Namu," Atem said hollowly. Yugi was inside the puzzle, which was located in Atem's coat over the chair. Yugi could not feel the dark trance his brother was in. If Atem had been wearing the millennium puzzle, Yugi would've saved his brother in time, but now it was too late.

"I'll also implant my control over you just in case. In other words, I can control whatever comes out of your mouth anytime I want, even without the rod. I can also communicate to you, but I'll save that for later. For now, you and I are to be friends and I am to be Namu until I say that I am _Marik Ishtar_," Marik, who pretended to be Namu, said.

"Yes Namu."

Marik smirked, then faced Ryan, saying, "as for you, I would like to reveal the spirit inside the millennium ring."

Ryan's face changed to somewhat darker. Marik seemed to be expecting this.

"So, it seems you are interested in controlling my host," Yami Ryou smirked.

"I have heard about the famous thief king. We both want to destroy the pharaoh and I was thinking maybe we can work together to make this happen," Marik smirked.

"Well, I do know alot about the pharaoh and having this one to give you the location might just be your most brilliant plan yet. We just might have a deal."

"Excellent! I may not be able to control you or your pesky spirit, but I can control your host. I hope you don't mind me implanting my control over him."

"Do whatever the hell you want. He's been annoying the hell outta me anyways."

"Even more excellent," Marik smirked even more deeper. "Now my army of rare hunters is complete. With my control over this host, I can know the exact location of the pharaoh, destroy him with your help, and who knows, I just might keep Atem as my pet."

Yami Ryou smirked deeply. He knew that Marik was clueless about the fact that Atem was the pharaoh's host. Of course, it didn't matter if Marik knew or not, because he would still get Yugi's location no matter where Atem went. Both Atem and Ryan changed back to normal as if nothing happened. Marik gave his friendly smile.

"Well, let's sit down. I'll get you both a drink," Marik offered.

"That's very kind of you, Namu," Atem replied.

_"Whatev,"_ Ryan shrugged before the boys sat down.

Atem was thankful to have met a new friend in this tournament and Ryan felt the same. Little did they know, they were implanted of Marik's control. Even Yugi was clueless, since the implant was already made and Marik wasn't controlling Atem at this point. Ryou was already being controlled by Yami Ryou, so Ryan was just as clueless as Atem and Yugi.

Atem joined with Seto on the stage as everyone turned their attention to the two hosts.

"Welcome to the Ceremony of Battle City!" Seto announced as everyone cheered and clapped. "I thank you all for coming! This is not a game, this is a death match!"

"Yes, because losing a card game will mean losing your life," Atem added as everyone began laughing at the joke.

_"You're hilarious,"_ Seto muttered through the microphone. "The winners will come out victorious, while the losers will appear crying in defeat!"

"Like you did after I kicked your ass, except you were also hospitalized for almost half a year after that," Atem added as the crowd laughed even louder. Seto seemed very annoyed. "Though, I think everyone gets the idea! We both wish you all luck at the tournament! Remember, it's not about who wins or loses, it's about kicking some ass and playing till the last drop of blood! Of course, it'll be the first eternal bleeding caused by a paper cut."

Everyone laughed again as Seto asked, "do you have to add the jokes?"

"It's better than hearing a boring speech or wearing this stupid outfit that makes me look like the guy from the Tuxedo," Atem replied as a few giggles were heard.

"Anyways, LET THE BATTLE CITY BEGIN!" Seto declared as cheers were heard. "When you leave this dome, a timer will be set for one hour. When time is up, the whole town square will be officially a Battle City Tournament!" More cheers were made and Seto and Atem gave smirks at each other.

In the far distance, Ishizu was seen in the midst of the crowd as a duelist. She was watching Marik with close eyes. Her fingers tapped on her millennium necklace as a sigh escaped her breath.

"It seems that Marik has spoken with Atem, unknowingly that he is the vessel of Yugi. It was unwise of him to put away his puzzle in a room where the enemy lies," Ishizu said while glaring at Atem. She looked at her millennium necklace. "I cannot predict the future for Atem now, but I still believe in him. He is the world's only hope. Yet... I must help to save my brother. Atem will need my help, especially being under my brother's control. He is vulnerable as long as that implant is still inside him."


	11. A Duel of Vengeance

**Flightfoot: The party is the little addition I added onto the story. I explained that I added some parts, including Marik controlling Atem. Nobody will be dueling him out of it. Atem won't be controlled throughout Battle City. Marik controls two of Atem's friends and they break out of his control, but Atem will never get out of Marik's control until the end of the story. Nobody will even know that Atem is under Marik's control until after the final 8. **

**Uh oh! Looks like Atem is now under Marik's control. Don't worry, Marik won't use Atem like a puppet like most of the rare hunters. Some of them actually aren't completely controlled by Marik, like Pandora. Think of Atem being like Pandora, just controlled by a tiny bit. This will be important later around the end of the story. You'll find out why. Review please!**

Atem left the party and changed into his regular clothes to prepare for Battle City. For some reason, he kept focusing on the location he was at. Yugi noticed this too, but never thought anything of it. Right now, he needed to focus on preparing for Battle City. This was the tournament to help him gain his memories.

Atem shuffled his deck and waited for the tournament to begin at the clock tower. He walked over toward a diner with sit-down tables outside.

_'Grand Diner, just outside,'_ Atem thought in his head randomly. He sat down at a seat just before spotting Joey running toward him.

"Hey man!" Joey greeted Atem as he stood up and they gave a guy hug.

"Hey! You ready for this?" Atem asked.

"Yep. I hope I find the ass who stole Damon from me. I swear it, Atem. I'll make him pay!"

"I'll help too. Nobody steals from my friends and gets away with it!"

"You tell it, Atem!"

Joey heard a dark chuckle behind him. He turned and saw an older man with a straight face, a devious smirk, straight white hair that went an inch passed his shoulders, and dark eyes. He wore a black tank top and some old pair of jeans. Joey glared furiously at the man and pointed his index finger at him.

"_YOU!_ YOU'RE THE GUY WHO STOLE MY RED-EYES!" Joey shouted angrily.

"Is it him?" Atem asked as Joey nodded. He gave the rare hunter a death glare. "You son of a bitch! I'll make sure you pay dearly for this!"

"I smell a challenge coming up," the rare hunter smirked deviously.

"You bet there will be. It'll be time for the tournament to begin when the chime goes off. When that happens, YOU'RE THROUGH!"

"Atem, I can handle this," Joey assured.

"I'm not dueling him, because I don't think you can _handle this_. Not only did he stole your card, but he's a rare hunter. He counterfeits cards and steals others. Seto and I have been after them since before your card was stolen," Atem explained as Joey rose two eyebrows. "Now, he stole from you. I will make him suffer dearly!"

"A-Are you sure?" Joey asked as Atem showed a smirk. "Then you go ahead, Pal."

"With pleasure!" Atem smirked before putting out his forearm and the duel disk automatically turned on. "IT'S TIME TO DUEL!"

The rare hunter smirked evilly as his duel disk automatically turned on. A loud gong from the clock tower went off and the rare hunter's and Atem's duel disk began calculating to the Kaiba Corp Satellite. Everyone noticed the first duel commencing and all gathered around to watch the show. There was even a reporter recording the whole duel.

_"And looks like the first duel is beginning at the ring of the bell! It's Atem Moto versus an anonymous player! Will Atem win this duel, like he's been doing, or will he give up his crown as the King of Games? We are about to find out!"_ The reporter announced, which made Atem roll his eyes.

"So, do you have a name or do you want everyone to call you _Anonymous_?" Atem mocked with a slight smirk. "I suppose I'll just call you _Jackass_. It suits you."

"Clever," the rare hunter thief replied with a devious smirk.

The two duelists drew their first five cards in their hands. The rare hunter seemed to have gathered a good hand based on his expression. Atem showed a daring smirk with eyes that showed blazes of fire. He was to be first to draw, so he drew his first card and held six cards.

"First, I'll place one card face-down, then summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts!" Atem declared as a monstrous beast appeared in front of Atem in a holographic image. Behind the beast was a duel card face-down. "That ends my turn."

"Then I go!" The rare hunter said before drawing his next card. "I play Graceful Charity by discarding two cards from my hand and drawing three cards from my deck." He placed two cards in his graveyard, and then drew three more from his deck to his hand. "Now, I summon Stone Statue of the Aztecs in defense mode!" A giant stoned monster appeared in a defensive position, which made Atem seem very curious.

Atem drew his next card, then peered at it. He smirked, "now, I use Polymerization to fuse my Gazelle and Baphomet, from my hand!" Polymerization flipped facing upside up. Baphomet appeared on the field, then fused with Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts. A winged beast with two heads and a snaky tail appeared on the field in attack mode. "I summon Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast!" Atem glared directly at his enemy in front of him. "On my next turn, my monster will destroy yours! I end my turn!"

"Very well!" The rare hunter replied before drawing his next card. "I summon Gear Golem the Moving Fortress in defense mode!" Atem rose two eyebrows curiously. He was calculating his opponent's strategy very carefully. A smirk then appeared on his lips.

"Another defense monster eh?" Atem asked with a slight smirk up his lips. "I have to say for a rare hunter, you sure have a poor deck."

"So you think."

"You mean your _Exodia deck_?" Atem asked knowingly. The rare hunter and Joey gasped aloud.

"An _Exodia_ deck? How'd you..." Joey asked baffled.

"He kept putting his monsters up in defense and at the same time, he also kept replenishing his cards. I used to have all five pieces of Exodia, so I know how it works. Since these rare hunters steal and counterfeit cards, I'd expect one of the lamer duelists to be carrying an Exodia deck," Atem explained as the rare hunter glared in annoyance.

"Who are you calling _lame_? Exodia is unbeatable!" The rare hunter argued.

"Yes... that is, if you can _summon it_. The problem with an Exodia deck are two things: one of the pieces going to the graveyard or having too many pieces. I _will_ crush your Exodia deck!" Atem declared boldly.

"I'd like to see you try!"

"I place one card face-down!" Atem declared as another face-down card appeared in front of him. "And now for my Chimera to destroy your stone monster!" Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast pounced onto Stone Statue of the Aztecs and it broke into pieces of rubble, disappearing from the field.

"Go ahead, destroy my monsters! On my next move, you shall face defeat!"

"Then I'll place another card face-down and end my turn!" Atem replied as another card appeared in front of him.

The rare hunter smiled victoriously as his hand was about to draw his next card. Atem smirked, knowing it was time to reveal his trap card. He had to make this move at the right precise moment or he'd lose. Just when the rare hunter was about to draw, Atem made his quick move.

"I activate my trap card!" Atem smirked as the rare hunter's eyes widened and watched one of his folded cards face upward. "Lightforce Sword! This takes one of your monsters from your hand and forces it onto the field!" A large sword appeared above the rare hunter's deck and stabbed through one of his cards. Atem kept his eyebrows narrowed as a large hand of Exodia appeared where the sword stabbed. "YES!" Everyone cheered and clapped for Atem for his victory. "And now you lose, because I activate my other trap card Chain Destruction! This destroys a monster on the field and wipes out any duplicates from your hand and deck! In other words, I just killed your deck!"

The rare hunter turned completely pale as his duel disk automatically sent all the duplicates to the graveyard. Atem smirked victoriously as the duel disk on Atem's arm appeared _"WINNER"_ in bold letters. The duel disk also calculated if the deck was dead or still active. The duel disk was calculative, just like Seto wanted it to be. Atem won the duel in less than five turns and his opponent knew it.

"That's why your deck was weak! A strong deck would've never died like that! In fact, a strong deck is made to withstand attacks from any card without turning into a dead deck. If your deck dies with just one card in a few moves, it's a weak deck! You are a weak duelist and that's no surprise since you are a thief!" Atem glared while walking toward the rare hunter to retrieve back Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon. He was stopped by a glowing Eye of Horus appearing on the rare hunter's forehead. He and Joey gasped as the rare hunter smiled wickedly.

_"I see you have succeeded in defeating one of my rare hunters, Yugi,"_ the rare hunter said in a different accent.

Atem stared awestruck at this rare hunter. There was something or _someone_ controlling him, no doubt. Yugi's spirit appeared next to his brother, wondering what was going on. Both the boys agreed that this rare hunter was being controlled by the real enemy.

"Who are you?" Atem asked.

_"This person is non of your concern, but my name is Marik Ishtar. Remember that name, Yugi, because you will need to for my ultimate revenge!"_ Marik, inside the rare hunter's body, replied.

_"Let me talk to him, he's obviously looking for me,"_ Yugi said as Atem nodded and let his brother take over. "Marik, what do you want from me? How do you know where I am?"

_"I have rare hunters entering this tournament, including me. Before this tournament, I've been collecting rare hunters to do my bidding. One of them is pin-pointing your location and I set a trap just for you, Pharaoh. I believe you're familiar with the millennium items, am I right?"_

"Yes."

_"Good. The millennium item I have is the millennium rod. It helps me control anyone I want: their thoughts and senses. I can even make this idiot do a dance,"_ Marik replied as his rare hunter puppet did a funny dance. _"All I have to do is use my rod to implant my control in a person's soul room like a tick, then I can brainwash and even _become_ that person anytime I want. Not even you can release my control. You see, every millennium item has a flaw to them too. For instance, the millennium necklace cannot see the future of any person with a millennium item or Ishizu would have all three god cards. My rod is also limited with ones possessing millennium items, like the one with the millennium ring. I couldn't implant any control over him, unfortunately."_

"Ryan! You leave him alone, you bully!"

_"_Bully_, very charming. Unfortunately, I'm the last thing you need to worry about, concerning Ryan. He apparently has some... ego issues. Though, I can communicate to his pesky friend. I also can't control your vessel as long as he has that millennium puzzle around his neck. Though, it would be fun to mess around with him. Unfortunately, I have bigger fish to fry. We'll meet again, Yugi. Keep your eyes open."_

The rare hunter fainted onto the ground as Yugi stared horrifically at the figure. Joey stared in horror as well. He looked at his friend, who seemed a little shocked. Yugi walked up to the Rare Hunter and took out Red-Eyes Black Dragon to give to Joey. Just as he saw the card being offered by Yugi, he looked at his short friend.

"Here, this is yours," Yugi said with a childish smile. "Take it."

"Yuge, I've been thinking. Atem showed bravery and pride in that duel. That's what Damon has tried to make me reveal in myself. I want you and Atem to keep that card until I can truly call myself _a duelist_," Joey said as Yugi nodded his head. "Yugi, when I can call myself a true duelist, will you duel me?"

"YOU BET!" Yugi replied excitedly before jumping and wrapped Joey in his arms and legs. The blond duelist was taken aback by this, but chuckled in the end. He was used to this from Yugi. "Until then, I promise brother and I will keep Damon for ya!"

"Good!"

Yugi hopped back on the ground, then him and Joey hooked their arms and had them cross their chest. Atem, meanwhile, was watching in the background. He was glad that Yugi and Joey became close friends. Yugi had grown close to all of Atem's friends to where they did everything together. Though, Yugi spent more time with Hanaski than the others. Yugi could never be any closer with anyone else, besides Atem and Tea. They were the only exceptions.

Atem decided to let Yugi have his share of duels and stayed inside his soul room to rest. He liked being in his soul room anyways. He could feel the comfort of darkness surrounding him in his room. While Atem laid on the floor relaxing, another figure appeared in the soul room. It was non other than Marik with a dark purple cloak and a deep smirk on his face.

Atem opened his eyes, which were hollow, and slowly stood up to face Marik. He took off his hood and walked up to Atem.

"So, Atem, I need information about Yugi. Have you found out the name of the millennium puzzle possessor?" Marik asked.

"You are looking at him," Atem replied plainly as Marik rose two eyebrows. "You controlled me while my puzzle was inside my coat pocket."

"DAMNIT!" Marik cried aloud before banging his head on the wall of the soul room. "So much for using _you_ as Yugi's next opponent." Then, a smirk appeared on his lips. "Then again, you might be useful afterall." He turned his head to meet Atem's face. "Atem, who are you and Yugi close to?"

"We have alot of friends. Do you want a list, Namu?"

"Tell me your _closest_ friends, both you and Yugi."

"Hanaski Tomoya, Joey Wheeler, Tea Garner, Seto Kaiba, Duke Devlin, Ser..."

"Stop! _Looks like I'll have to narrow it down_," Marik muttered to himself. He then showed a smirk again. "Who are you and Yugi's best and closest friend?"

"Hanaski Tomoya is Yugi's best friend and Joey Wheeler is mine."

"Interesting," Marik smirked evilly as an evil chuckle escaped from his lips. "Keep at what you're doing. Give me the location of you and Yugi's whereabouts. I'll make sure your friends never suspect my brainwashing effect on you." He walked toward the door that led out of the soul room. "I better make sure Yugi never suspect my presents. To do this, I must be sure my control is at a minimum. Be sure Yugi never discovers my presents no matter what."

"Yes Namu."

Marik smirked evilly before disappearing from thin air. Atem blinked and his eyes changed from being hallow to normal dark violet eyes. He scratched his head confusingly. He decided to shrug his mysterious blackout and check on Yugi to see how he was doing and find out where he was._ 'Wait, why would I want to know so much?'_ Atem asked himself.


	12. Psycho Deck

**Flightfoot: Sorry for Hanaski's absents. It's just that the characters have split, because of the tournament. I mean even Duke, Tristan, and Tea are not with the others at the current moment. So yeah, Hanaski will definitely have his screen time soon enough.**

**Here is the next chapter with Joey and Esper Roba. It won't be long before Atem and Yugi go against Pandora. Actually, the duel with Pandora will be quite interesting. I think you'll love it. Review please!**

Joey searched everywhere for the next duelist he would duel against. He was willing to not stop for anything to reach his dream. He made a promise to Yugi to one day reach the goal as a true duelist, to be the warrior that Damon believed he was. Joey wanted to be as strong and courageous as Damon.

Joey also wanted to win this tournament for Serenity. She had just finished his surgery and was afraid to remove her bandages. Fear was swarming all over her and she was afraid of being blind for the rest of her life. Atem was willing to give Serenity just as much courage as Joey was. The blond duelist remembered when Damon gave him courage at Duelist Kingdom and it was now time for him to give Serenity courage.

A group of people surrounded a curtain part of the Town Square. Joey grew curious and dug his way through the crowd to find out who was dueling. He saw Rex dueling against a middle school kid with medium-sized hair, a crooked smile, and fearsome confidence. Joey rose two eyebrows as he watched Rex's life points dropping to zero.

"NO!" Rex whined. "B-But how?"

"I told you, I'm psychic! I can see the future and I already predicted your defeat!" The middle school duelist replied as Rex shook in fear.

"How, how did he do that?"

"What's going on?" Joey asked.

"Don't duel this guy! His name's Esper Roba and he's _psychic_! He can see my cards and he'll skin you alive!" Rex warned Joey.

"Psycic huh?" Joey asked with interest in his mind. _"Interesting."_ A smirk curled on his lips as he walked in front of Esper Roba. "I challenge you to a duel!"

"Excepted! What's your name?" Esper Roba asked.

"Joey Wheeler and my rare card I will use as an anti is Time Wizard," Joey said, showing the Time Wizard card.

"I'll gamble Jinzo!" Esper Roba declared, holding up his card Jinzo. "And of course, one locator card."

"Deal!"

"Wait, what about Red-Eyes? What'd you do with it?" Rex asked.

"Funny story. I was mugged and the card was taken, then my friend dueled for it back and is keeping him in his deck until I duel for it," Joey replied as Rex showed a blank look.

"Whatever, you can't possibly defeat Esper Roba! You were lucky to have beaten me!"

"Maybe, but maybe that _luck_ can help me defeat this guy!"

"We'll see," Esper Roba smirked before him and Joey turned on their duel disks.

Joey and Esper Roba used the automatic shuffler on the duel disk before taking out their first five cards. Joey drew his first card, seeing he went first, then Esper Roba placed two fingers on each temple of his forehead. Joey rose two eyebrows and started looking at the psychic kid with question.

_"I feel the energy of the cosmos filling every inch of my body! It shall be my destiny to win this duel for it is the law of the cosmos!"_ Esper Roba announced aloud.

"Dude, are you drunk?" Joey asked, giving Esper Roba odd looks.

"No, I told you, I'm psychic! I'm gathering the powers of the cosmos!"

"_Cosmos?_ It sounds like something you got from a scifi movie!" Joey mocked as Esper Roba glared. "I mean if you're gonna pretend to have ESP, at least be a little more creative and realistic."

"I am psychic and I will show you on your first move."

"Whatever Psycho!" Joey said with a grim expression. "I summon Giltia the D. Knight in..." When he placed the card down, the monster never appeared. "Wait, what, HEY!" Everyone in the crowd gawked up laughing, even Rex.

"MORON! According to the Expert Rules, you have to sacrifice monsters below level 5 to summon high level monsters level 5 and above!" Rex cried out.

"Uh... _I knew that_," Joey blushed in embarrassment. He forgotten that part of the rules in Duel Monsters. "I was just... testing ya."

"If you want my suggestion, I suggest you summon Swordsman of Landstar. The monster on your very left," Esper Roba smirked as Joey was taken aback and showed a glare. "It's telepathy. I am one with the cosmos. They and I are one and I..."

"Would you stop the cosmos bullshit! I swear you're more annoying than Barney the dinosaur!" Joey complained while covering his ears. "Just go already!"

"Alright, I summon Cyber Raider to attack you directly!" Esper Roba declared as Cyber Raider appeared on the field, then punched Joey right across the face. Joey felt a vibration from the duel disk as the number that showed the amount of life points he had dropped down to 2600. He kept his fearsome glare and knew it was time for him to stop playing around and start getting serious.

Joey drew his next card and looked at it closely. He noticed Esper Roba placing two fingers on each of his temples again. Joey was starting to wonder if this kid was drunk or on something. One thing was for sure, this kid was cheating. There was no way he had powers! NO WAY!

"My telopathy predicts that you had just drawn your second Graceful Dice spell card," Esper Roba smirked as Joey narrowed his eyes and peered at the cards in his hand. "Does it shock you? My telepathy is a gift from the Cosmos. Right at this very moment, I'm communicating with the spirit of Maxamillion Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters, who was murdered a few months ago."

"Wait _wha..._ okay, I thought you were drunk, but now I think you're high," Joey said, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I AM NOT _HIGH_!"

"You are! You're making these weird freako stuff like you're trying to make some sort of ritual to the gods or something and your predictions are lame too."

"THEY ARE NOT! I can sense fear inside you, Joey," Esper Roba smirked with slight sweat on his face.

"No, you're just cheating! You have someone lookin' at my cards!" Joey accused as everyone in the audience gasped and started making comments of letting Atem or Seto know about this. "And I'll prove you're not some _psychic_! I summon Swordsman of Landstar!" Swordsman of Landstar appeared on the field as Joey looked at his hand, which showed two dice cards. "Then, I place two cards face-down! If you're psychic, you would know what these are!"

"They're _obviously_ Graceful Dice!"

"Well... one of them is," Joey grinned as Esper Roba rose two eyebrows. "I believe it's your turn."

"I sacrifice Cyber Raider to bring out The Fiend Magacyber!" Esper Roba declared as Cyber Raider disappeared from the field and was replaced by The Fiend Megacyber.

"I activate my face-down card Graceful Dice!" Joey declared as his first folded card flipped face-up and a little man with wings on its hat and a huge die in its hands. It tossed the die and it rolled on the ground. The die landed on a 3 and Swordsman of Landstar's attack rose to 1500.

"HA! Even with that spell card, you still can't defeat Megacyber!" Esper Roba smirked widely. "Fiend Megacyber, attack Joey's Swordsman of Landstar!"

"TRAP!" Joey responded as Esper Roba gasped and watched the next folded card flip face-up. A little man with a black hat and bat wings on it holding a red die appeared on the field. "Skull Dice! You seemed to have not predicted this correctly! You thought I had two Graceful Dice cards, but I only had one!"

The little man with the black hat tossed the red die and it rolled onto the ground. It showed a five and The Fiend Megacyber's attack points dropped to 440. Joey showed a victory grin and gave out an evil chuckle.

"No!" Esper Roba cried.

"Swordsman of Landstar, attack Fiend Megacyber!" Joey declared as Swordsman of Landstar slashed its sword across Esper Roba's monster and the kid was left with 2940 life points. "The reason you thought I had two Graceful Dice is because one card was on top of the other. As I said, you have someone spying at my cards! It's time for you to drop the act you psycho freak!"

"I AM PSYCHIC!" Esper Roba argued as Joey showed a chuckling smirk up his lips. "In fact, I don't need my powers to defeat you!" He took one of his cards from his hand, then laid it face-down. "I fold one card and end my turn!"

Joey drew his next card, then hid his cards to make sure nobody could see them. He peered at them, and then played his next move.

"I summon Alligator Sword, now sick him!" Joey smirked as Alligator Sword ran up and slashed Esper Roba, leaving him with 1440 life points. "Swordsman of Landstar, do your stuff!"

"Not so fast!" Esper Roba before he activated his spell card. "Mind Control! I control your Landstar!" Swordsman of Landstar appeared in Esper Roba's field. Joey drew his next card, trying to come up with a plan.

"I place one card face-down and end my turn!" Joey declared.

"Your one-track mind disgusts me," Esper Roba mocked before drawing his next card. "I play Brain Control and use it on your Alligator!" Alligator Sword disappeared from Joey's field and ended up on Esper Roba's field. Joey glared and growled in frustration. "Now, I sacrifice these two to summon out Jinzo!" Jinzo appeared on the field, which made Joey gasp. "And your traps go bye-bye!"

"What?" Joey gasped as Jinzo shot its laser beams at his trap card and evaporated it from the field. "Shit!"

"Jinzo destroys all trap cards!" Esper Roba explained as Joey's eyes turned wide-eyed. "JINZO, DESTROY JOEY! ATTACK HIM DIRECTLY!" Jinzo made a dark energy ball from its hands and blasted it right at Joey, who felt a stronger vibration on his duel disk. "YOU CANNOT DESTROY US! WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE!" Joey glared as he saw his remaining 200 life points on his duel disk. He knew he couldn't give up this duel, not for Atem and not for Serenity. Jeoy was willing to fight till the bitter end. "You might as well give up now, Joey."

"No, I'm not giving up no matter what! I fight until the end!" Joey declared.

"But you have 200 life points left. You've got no chance against me!"

"Maybe, but if I quite now, I might as well call myself a coward!" Joey said before drawing his next card. "I play Scapegoat!" Four scapegoats appeared on Joey's field. Esper Roba continued to show his deep smirk.

"If you say so," Esper Roba replied. "I equip Jinzo with Amplifier!" A huge helmet appeared on Jinzo's head and its attack points increased to 2900. "And that's not all! I summon Reflect Bounder, this makes an attack from an opponent reflect back to them! Face it Joey, you were doomed from the start! Jinzo and Reflect, take down two of Joey's scapegoats!"

Joey lost two scapegoats as he put up a fighting glare. He said, "It's my turn!"

"Damn! Why won't you give up?"

"Because I am a duelist! A true duelist never cowers away!" Joey replied before drawing his next card. A deep smirk appeared on his lips along with a dark chuckle. "I play Roulette Spider!" Esper Roba gasped in horror as a spider with springy legs and an arrow for a tail appeared on the field and strapped its legs around Jinzo. A roulette circle appeared with the monsters surrounding it.

"What's going on?"

"Have you heard of Russian Roulette? Well, this is sorta like that. Roulette Spider straps itself onto the strongest monster and forces it to attack whatever monster the arrow lands on!" Joey replied as sweat poured from Esper Roba's face. Jinzo started spinning around with the arrow on the spider's butt spinning and pointing toward each monster. "When you say _'stop!'_ the arrow will stop to whoever Jinzo must forcly attack! You call the shots!"

Esper Roba began sweating nervously, knowing if Jinzo was to land on direct attack on him, he'd lose the game. He finally screamed, "STOP!" The arrow slowed down, then landed right at Reflect Bounder and attacked it. Both attacked and destroyed each other. "NOOOOO!" Esper Roba's life points were now 240 from the attack.

"I still got one monster left!" Joey smirked as he summoned Baby Dragon. "And Baby Dragon makes the finish line!" Baby Dragon blew a giant ball of fire at Esper Roba and left him with 0 life points. He was defeated. Joey showed a smile while looking up at the sky. He thought, _'I'm gonna make it, Damon! I'm gonna be strong and make you proud!'_

Esper Roba stared dumbfoundedly at his duel disk, which read 0 life points. His arms were shaking and his emotions were arousing from his hormones. The crowd cheered for Joey's victory and making comments about the duel. Esper Roba glared angrily, mistaking the mutters for dirty comments about himself.

"Alright, as the rule of the game, you need to give me your rare card and locator card," Joey said.

"STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!" Esper Roba screamed at the top of his lungs in front of the crowd. "YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY DON'T YOU? WELL... DON'T..."

"Hey, hey, calm down, kid," Joey said, putting his hands up front. "Nobody is looking at you like anything! It's just a game. Lighten up!"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Esper Roba yelled, tears streaming down his eyes. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! My brothers are always being picked at, because they're so weak and helpless! I have to protect them and show them how to fight! I..."

"So, you have someone to protect too?" Joey asked as Esper Roba lifted his head and stared at the blond blankly. "My sister is in the hospital and needs my courage to find the strength to face the world with her very own eyes. Unfortunately, she's too scared to take off her bandages. That's why I'm dueling."

"B-But I failed them."

_"No, you didn't!"_ A voice cried out. Joey swung his head around and saw three small boys, one of them carrying a baby. They all ran to Esper Roba with cheerful hugs.

"Yeah, we saw what you did and you were _amazing_!" The middle-sized brother said.

"So, these were the spies you sent. You know, as a big brother, you shouldn't play a bad role model by having these little guys cheat for ya," Joey smirked with crossed arms.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Esper Roba apologized. "Maybe you do understand me."

"And not only that, but I know what these guys are thinking as well. Just like these guys, I also have an older brother. That's another reason why I'm dueling. I... I wanna make him proud and I know that's all these little guys wanna do."

"Yeah!" The littlest brother replied.

"We wanna make Esper proud!" the middle one said.

"Really?" Esper Roba asked in amazement. "I'll always be proud of you. You're my brothers," He promised as his brother's eyes twinkled brightly with smiles of joy. He then, got out his locator card and Jinzo, then gave them to Joey. "Here they are and the next time we duel, it'll be fair and square."

"Dido," Joey replied with a thumbs up before taking the locator card and Jinzo. He smiled at the cards before placing them in his pocket. _'If only you could see me now, Damon.'_ He began thinking about the red-eyed warrior and started wishing he was a living human being instead of an ancient spirit. _'If only that were true, then my father wouldn't be such an asshole!'_


	13. The Magicians' Soul

**I want to do the next chapter, because this part is one of my favorites lol. You'll see why. I'm also gonna include Atem, since I'm gonna be doing the Pandora duel anyways. I wanna thank NightmareTroubador for sending me the volume 12 of Yugioh Duelist. It was a big time lifesavor and I mean BIG TIME life savor. Review please!**

In the middle of the Town Square of Domino City, there were two duelists bickering over the anti rule, which was to nobodys surprise. One of the duelists had wild white hair, strong muscle tone, and a black muscle shirt. He picked his opponent up by the collar of the shirt with their faces only a half inch apart.

"Listen pal, I won that duel, so you have to meet my demands!" The white-haired duelist demanded.

"B-But we agreed to the anti rule. I never agreed to give you $900," the opponent muttered fearfully.

"I don't give a shit! You give me my..."

Mokuba blew his whistle at the two duelists. The tough white-haired duelist started becoming extremely annoyed. Mokuba loved his job as Chairman of Battle City, especially blowing the whistle.

"As the Chairman of this tournament, it's my job to settle disputes!" Mokuba smirked.

"Isn't that the hosts' job?" The white-haired duelist asked with annoyance.

"Yeah, but they let me help, since the Town Square is huge and they're also dueling too," Mokuba replied before taking the white-haired duelist's anti card.

"HEY!"

"Anti rules are the most common issues. It is forbidden to change the anti rule after the duel, including demanding money," Mokuba said, looking at the two cards. "They seem formidable. There' s no reason why you shouldn't agree to this."

The wild white-haired duelist picked Mokuba up by the front collar and met his face yelling, "YOU WANNA DIE KID? NOBODY MESSES WITH MY RULES!"

"And nobody messes with my little brother," Seto said plainly behind the white-haired duelist threatening Mokuba. He turned his head and gasped in horror as his eyes faced Seto Kaiba and Atem Moto.

"You have got to be f***ing kidding me! _Nagumo?_" Atem glared with slight shock. He then showed a huge smirk. "Long time no see. Why am I not surprised to find you along the list of duelists who perfer cheating tantics?"

"You know this pathetic waste bag?" Seto asked.

"He's the one who stole Yugi's Monster Fighter monster toy."

"So... he's known for both cheating and abusing brothers. How pathetic," Seto smirked.

"Here's his anti," Mokuba said, giving Seto the card.

"A Hyozanryu? You really are pathetic. I have 36 cards just like this one. I'm surprised you demand so much out of this," Seto mocked.

"More like a hundred," Atem smirked while rolling his eyes. "Even my Dark Magician is more rare than that monster and I pity it for being owned by someone like you."

"SHUT UP YOU F***ING PIECE OF SHIT!" Nagumo yelled.

"I tell you what," Seto said while ripping the card in half. "I'll duel you right now and I'll use these as my anti." Mokuba opened Seto's suitcase, which was filled with rare cards.

"Oh man, this should be good," Atem smirked while leaning against the wall. "If Seto's dueling you and not asking me to take care of it, you know you're in trouble."

"In fact, I'll even add my God Card as my anti. You can use the rare cards in my suitcase to set up your deck."

"Scratch that, you're screwed."

"DEAL!" Nagumo agreed unthinkably.

Nagumo set up his deck, using the cards from Seto's briefcase, then shuffled them in his duel disk. Nagumo and Seto began their duel and it hit like a bomb. Nagumo found himself half paralyzed on the ground shaking while Atem helped the opponent up and gave him a rare card to make up for Nagumo's cheating tactics. Him, Seto, and Mokuba left the alleyway leaving a Nagumo in shock while his opponent ripped up all his duel monster cards.

"Well, that was fun," Seto smirked while letting out a dark chuckle.

"That was surprisingly better than a Shadow Game. I can't believe he actually grew paralyzed after you summoned Obelisk, I mean it is a hologram!" Atem chuckled.

"He was a pathetic duelist and a cheater! I hate duelists like that and will not stand for low life duelists like that!"

"At least he wasn't Joey's old time gang, Huritani and his asshole friends!"

"You mean those punks that shot me with paintball guns and almost choked me to death?" Mokuba asked angrily.

"Bingo," Atem smirked.

"I told ya," Seto said to Mokuba as Atem rolled his eyes. "Atem did join a crappy gang that sells drugs and sex."

"You're an ass, you know that?"

"Gee, what gave that away?" Seto asked sarcastically.

Atem got out Red-Eyes Black Dragon that Joey gave to him. He was willing to protect Joey's card with his life. Though, the question still bothered Atem alot: _why would those those Rare Hunters be after Red-Eyes?_ That puzzled Atem alot as he walked to the next street.

_"Clearview,"_ Atem whispered randomly.

"Did you say something?" Seto asked.

"Hm?"

"Nevermind."

"Why would some Rare Hunters be after Red-Eyes and how would they even know Joey had it?" Atem asked himself aloud.

"Where'd Wheeler get that damn duel disk anyways?"

"He said Trading Card Shop."

"More than likely, Wheeler got it from the store for the scums where the Rare Hunters would be located."

"You think?"

"It's a possibility," Seto shrugged before Atem ran off down the sidewalk. "HEY! WHERE YOU GOING?"

"After those sons of a bitches who were in charge of stealing Joey's Red-Eyes!" Atem replied before turning a corner. "Jetson Street." _'Ok, this is weird, why am I spouting out street names like I'm giving out my location?'_ Atem asked himself, which was beyond Yugi's knowing.

Yugi's spirit floated next to Atem as he watched his brother spouting out location after location. Yugi began fearing that this wasn't just some coincidence. He furrowed his eyebrows and asked, _"brother, let me duel this time!"_

_'Yugi, I can handle this!'_ Atem promised.

_"Yeah, but this Rare Hunter could have a god card and you promised for me to duel to retrieve them!"_

_'You probably are right. I'll let you take over.'_

Atem changed to Yugi and he started running toward the location they needed to be. It was the southern part of the Town Square in front of a store, which read _Trading Cards_. Yugi narrowed his eyes as he opened the door to the shop, which was closed. Seto followed Yugi inside the store.

"Impressive. The location of the Rare Hunters," Seto smirked as Yugi walked in front of the counter where he saw the monitor where Atem's profile showed.

"It's brother's profile," Yugi said as Seto rose his eyebrows, noticing that Atem changed to his alter ego.

The screen changed to some sort of white-faced puppet on a tricycle. Yugi gasped and slowly backed up a few steps as the puppet said, _"hey Atem, I'd like to play a little game."_

_"You cannot be serious!"_ Atem smirked as he placed his hand on his face. _"Apparently, this Rare Hunter's a Saw fan."_

"You like my little video?" a voice asked as Yugi turned his head and saw an older man with a mask that seemed like a Mardi Gras mask. "Let me introduce myself, my name is Pandora."

"A Rare Hunter, figures," Seto smirked.

"For a Rare Hunter that steals and counterfeits cards, he sure looks gay," Mokuba mocked.

"And he looks like he's seen too many horror films," Seto included.

_'There's something awfully familiar about that puppet,'_ Yugi said, looking at the screen. Atem stood next to it, smiling wildly.

_"What gave you that idea?"_ Atem asked in a dark tone as Yugi shrugged.

_'No reason.'_

"It is time for us to duel in our grand show!" Pandora announced with his arms spread. "I shall show you!" He grabbed Yugi by the arm and dragged him down the stairs. Seto and Mokuba followed the two opponents downstairs and into an arena. "Welcome to the grand arena for Magicians! Marik took the time to send me to duel you, so I decided to set up this perfect arena for our duel!"

"Marik! You've talked to him?" Yugi asked dumbfounded.

"Oh yes and your so called _'brother'_ will find out how soon enough," Pandora smirked as Yugi furrowed her eyebrows.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Pandora smirked and a dark chuckle escaped from his lips. Yugi gulped and felt as if something bad was about to happen or already has. Atem felt the same, but there was something about what Pandora said. What did he mean by _'will find out soon enough'_?

Atem warned Yugi,_ "careful. I've got a bad feeling about this duel."_

_'I figured that much,'_ Yugi replied. He stepped up to the round table with a hexagram circle on it. Pandora was on the other side with his deck in his hand.

"You see, Yugi, you're not the only one who holds a spellcaster deck. I also hold a spellcaster deck and with Dark Magician, no doubt," Pandora smirked as Yugi showed one on his lips.

"Then this duel should be interesting," Yugi replied as him and Pandora shuffled their decks. While shuffling, he noticed Pandora shuffling using the shotgun shuffle. "Shuffling like that will damage your cards you know."

"This is the only type of shuffling I know," Pandora replied before him and Yugi passed their decks to each other to cut it. "Time to cut the deck!"

While cutting Pandora's deck, Yugi noticed that the cards were slightly shaved on one edge, showed a hole on a curtain spot, or was marked. Atem glared, knowing that this was obviously a cheating tactic used to know each card apart while face-down. According to the rules, messing with the cards to tell them apart including shaving them or marking them can only be done if the person was a blind handicapped, but Pandora wasn't blind.

"Now, time to duel!" Pandora smirked. Him and Yugi walked up to the end of the arena where each duelist was supposed to stand. Before Yugi knew it, he heard a snap and gasped in horror as he saw shackles strapped to his legs.

"YUGI!" Mokuba cried before him and Seto noticed Pandora's legs also strapped to shackles.

"What kind of sick game are you playing?" Seto asked angrily.

"It is my kind of duel monsters rule. Let me explain," Pandora smirked, who was holding the rope, which strapped the shackles onto his and Yugi's legs. "This is an arena for magicians! It's my grand show _Pandora's Escape From the Very Jaws of Death_!" Seto, Mokuba, and Yugi heard the roaring sound of blades, which was so loud, they could barely hear themselves. "Whoever loses this duel will have their legs saw in half!"

_"WHAAAAAT!"_ Yugi yelled from across the arena. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"I SAID IF YOU LOSE, YOUR LEGS WILL BE SAWED IN HALF!"

"MY LEGS WILL BE LAUGHED AT?"

"NOOOOO! I SAID YOU LEGS WILL BE _SAWED IN HALF_!"

"MY LEGS WILL BE SAWED IN HALF?"

"THAT'S WHAT I SAID!"

"WHAT?"

"F*** THIS SHIT AND LET'S DUEL!"

"A DUCK HITS AND RULES?"

"I SAID DUEL YOU F***ING D***HEAD!" Pandora yelled on the top of his lungs with frustration.

_"This is bad!"_ Atem said, staring at the blade. Luckily, him and Yugi shared a body, so talking to each other was like talking to himself. _"Are you sure you wanna do this?"_

"I'm sure!" Yugi said, not fearing of talking aloud to Atem since the saw blades were so loud, nobody could hear each other. "LET'S DUEL, PANDORA!"

"_WHAT?_ OH FORGET IT AND LET'S DUEL!" Pandora replied before placing his deck in the duel disk. Yugi also placed his deck in his duel disk and the two duelists began their duel.

_"From the looks of it, the numbers by the saw blade stands for our life points, so as our life points go down, the blade comes closer until it cuts our legs off. This guy really has seen too many horror films,"_ Atem said with crossed arms.

"This guy's psycho!" Yugi replied, then peered at the box below him. "What's this?"

_"I don't know,"_ Atem said before hearing something.

_"That's where your key is,"_ a familiar voice said inside Atem's mind that wasn't Yugi's.

_"Yugi, did you hear something?"_ Atem asked as Yugi shook his head.

_"The numbers on it show the enemy's life points. When it reaches zero, the winner can retrieve the key out of the shackles,"_ The voice said again.

_"The box is where our key to our escape is,"_ Atem told Yugi as he looked at his brother with blinking eyes. _"At least that's what I think."_

"Perhaps, but what if Pandora loses? He'll die as well."

"We'll find a way."

Yugi and Pandora drew their first five cards from their deck. Yugi knew he could only know what Pandora said on his phase by rather lip reading or seeing what monsters he would summon. The other issue was if Pandora would use more cheating tactics than just shaving or marking his cards. Yugi suspected that Pandora used other tactics to get the cards he wanted. More than likely, he had Dark Magician on his first draw.

Yugi drew his first card, then peered at his hand. A slight smirk grew on his lips before he declared, "I place one card face-down, then summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior in defense mode!" Alpha the Magnet Warrior appeared in a defense position.

Seto and Mokuba watched in horror as Yugi began dueling with Pandora. There were no rules against playing this kind of game. In fact, these kind of games never were brought to Seto's or Atem's attention. _Who would_ want to play games like these? Seto hated the fact that this guy was willing to play with his opponent's life while thinking this was fun. Playing with someone else's lives was not fun, Seto would know.

Pandora drew his next card and seeing victory in his eyes as he gazed as his Dark Magician in his hand. He declared, "I summon Legion the Fiend Jester in defense mode and end my turn!"

Yugi drew his next card and smiled at his hand. He could tell what Pandora was trying to pull off.

"I play Card Destruction!" Yugi said as Pandora's face turned completely white. "Each of us have to refresh our hand, so your Dark Magician is gone!"

_"Shiiiit!"_ Pandora whined, but surprisingly heard Yugi's last comment. "WAIT, HOW DID YOU KNOW I _HAD_ DARK MAGICIAN!"

"BECAUSE I NOTICED YOU CUT AND MARKED YOUR DECK!"

_"WHAAAAAAT!"_

"YOU CUT AND MARKED YOUR DECK, YOU CHEATING SON OF A BITCH!"

Pandora glared in anger and shock. Yugi was smarter than he looked. He smirked cunningly and played another spell card.

"I play Mind Control, so your Fiend Jester is mine!" Yugi declared as Legion the Fiend Jester disappeared from Pandora's fiend and ended up on his. He smirked at the very card in his hand. "I sacrifice our monsters to summon out my Dark Magician, my soul card!"

Dark Magician appeared bright and bold. He turned his head toward Yugi and said, _"I'll protect you, my pharaoh."_

"DARK MAGICIAN, ATTACK THIS CLOWN DIRECTLY!" Yugi cried, which sounded like a scream since his voice was trying to be louder than the running blade. Dark Magician shot a huge blast at Pandora and left him with 1500 life points. The blade on Pandora's side slowly came closer as fear and sweat poured on his face.

_"So much for the _Show of the Century_. That guy is more scared than Joey is of mummies,"_ Atem smirked with crossed arms.

"IF YOU WANT TO SPARE YOUR LIFE, YOU'D GIVE UP THIS SHARADE! QUITE THE DUEL!" Yugi cried out to Pandora, not wanting to be the one to take his life.

"GIVE UP? WHY WOULD I WANT TO _GIVE UP_? I'VE NEVER FELT MORE ALIVE THAN TASTING THE TASTE OF DEATH!" Pandora shouted with a crazy expression.

_"It's official, he's a serial killer,"_ Atem thought with furrowed eyebrows.

"I can't believe he's getting himself killed like this!" Yugi glared angrily.

_"Just keep dueling, Yugi. Maybe a few inches off his life will make him come to his senses."_

"I place one monster in defense mode, then fold one card! That ends my turn!" Pandora declared as his monster appeared in a defense position.

Yugi drew his next card, then peered at it, along with his cards. He declared, "I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior in attack mode!" Beta the Magnet Warrior appeared on the field as Pandora showed an evil smirk.

"I activate my trap!" Pandora said before his face-down card activated. "Coffin of Dark Destruction!" A coffin appeared in the field and sucked Beta the Magnet Warrior inside it before it closed. "With this, I can resurrect Dark Magician by using two souls, one of my monsters and one of yours!" Pandora's monster was also sucked into the coffin, then it glowed and its lid opened like french doors and there appeared Dark Magician.

_"Oh shit!"_ Atem responded.

"Two Dark Magicians," Yugi added, seeing his own Dark Magician and Pandora's Dark Magician on opposite fields. "I place two face-downs and end my turn!"

"Then I'll place two face-down cards as well!"

"Two more face-downs!"

"I also place two folded cards!"

There were four face-down cards in each of the opponent's field. Yugi knew that the true test was about to begin.

"Alright, I'm getting damn bored!" Pandora glared before revealing his spell card. "I play Mystic Guillotine!" A Guillotine appeared on the field and strapped Yugi's Dark Magician onto it.

"MAHAD!" Yugi cried as he watched his close friend struggle and glance at the small boy with gleaming eyes.

_"Master!"_ Dark Magician said as Yugi furrowed his eyebrows at Pandora.

"Don't worry, I'll save you!" Yugi promised. "I play my trap card Magical Hats!" Four hats appeared on the field, one of them was in the guillotine. When the blade crushed the hat, there was no Dark Magician found. "You okay Mahad?"

_"Thank you,"_ Dark Magician replied inside one of the hats.

"Then I play Thousand Knives!" Pandora declared as thousands of knives appeared from his Dark Magician and aimed toward the three remaining hats.

"De-Spell!" Yugi cried triumphantly as his spell card activated, negating Pandora's spell card.

"Why you little bitch!" Pandora cried out angrily and annoyingly. "DARK MAGICIAN ATTACK!"

Both Dark Magicians began attacking, then destroying each other. After that, both Pandora and Yugi used their spell cards Monster Reborn to bring back their Dark Magician. Yugi showed a gaming smirk while Pandora showed a face of annoyance.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR DARK MAGICIAN AND MINE?" Yugi asked aloud as Pandora looked at him with pure annoyance. "YOU CHEAT, CUT YOUR CARDS, AND MISTREAT YOUR MONSTERS IN ORDER TO GET YOUR WAY! MAHAD CHOSE ME AS HIS MASTER, NOT YOU!"

"_MAHAD?_ DARK MAGICIAN IS JUST A CARD!" Pandora glared factually.

"HE'S ALSO MY SOUL CARD! HE CHOSE ME AS HIS MASTER! WE HAVE A BOND THAT YOU CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND!"

"WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!" Pandora cried out. "I place one card face-down and end my turn!"

"I also place two face-down cards!"

"Now I play my spell card Beckon to the Dark! This will go after your Dark Magician!" Pandora declared as a giant arm appeared on the field and was on its way toward Dark Magician.

"I WON'T LET YOU!" Yugi glared as he revealed his trap card. "Mystical Rift Panel! Now I'll attack you with your very own spell card!"

"NOT SO FAST, YUGI!" Pandora cried out as he activated his trap card. "Nightmare Chains!"

Yugi stared in horror as he watched his Dark Magician strapped in chains against a wooden fence. Yugi screamed, "NO MAHAD!"

_"Don't worry about me, Master!"_ Dark Magician said with bravery on his face.

"DARK MAGICIAN CAN ONLY WATCH AS I TORTURE HIS MASTER TO HIS DEATH!" Pandora cried and laughed manically.

"MAHAD!" Yugi cried toward his soul card.

_"Focus on defeating him! Don't worry about me!"_ Dark Magician said as Yugi stared nervously at his hand.

_"He'll be fine! Focus on the issue at hand!"_ Atem said as Yugi looked back at his brother, then nodded.

"Now, I'll have my Dark Magician attack you directly!" Pandora declared with wild eyes as his Dark Magician blasted Yugi and his life points stooped down to 1500. He could hear the blade zooming toward his legs.

_"MASTER!"_ Dark Magician cried out, struggling out of the chains.

"Don't worry! I'm fine!" Yugi assured.

_"But for how long?"_ Atem asked with fright in his voice.

"THIS WILL TURN INTO THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH!" Pandora announced loudly, spreading his hands wide.

"I summon Big Shield Guardna in defense mode!" Yugi declared as Big Shield Guardna appeared in a defense position with a shield in front of it.

"You think you can hide in your little shield?" Pandora smirked evilly before laughing manically. "I summon Malice Doll of Demise in attack mode!" A maniacal doll appeared, which gave Yugi the creeps.

_"Not only does he watch the Saw, but Child's Play as well,"_ Atem smirked mockingly. _"Is there not one horror movie pun to this duel?"_

"Now to use my spell card Ectoplasmer!" Pandora smirked as Yugi gasped. "This makes it to where I can inflict damage equal to whatever monster I sacrifice! Such a small price to pay!"

_"He's going to sacrifice his monsters!"_ Atem glared.

"I sacrifice Doll of Demise and use its life points to attack you directly!" Pandora declared as ghostly ectoplasm emerged from Doll of Demise and punched right at Yugi and his life points. He was now left with 700 life points left. The blade began driving closer to his death.

_"YUGI!"_ Atem cried aloud. He didn't care that his legs were chopped off, but Yugi would have to endure that pain and if his own body was gone, so would Yugi's life, since he needed a body. Atem couldn't bare to let his brother be tortured like this anymore, not like he didn't have a choice whether they switched or not.

"DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME? BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO SOFT! YOU'D RATHER _PROTECT_ YOUR PRECIOUS DARK MAGICIAN RATHER THAN ACTUALLY USE HIM AND NOW HE'S TRAPPED WITH NO WAY OUT! YOU ARE A FOOL, YUGI!" Pandora declared as he laughed so evilly.

"I PROTECT HIM, BECAUSE HE'S MY FRIEND AND FRIENDS ALWAYS PROTECT EACH OTHER!" Yugi argued while his Dark Magician stared at him with fear and worry.

"AS I SAID, YOU ARE A FOOL!" Pandora smirked wildly. "DARK MAGICIAN, GIVE YOUR LIFE, SO I CAN FINISH THIS LITTLE PEST OFF!" Pandora's Dark Magician's attack points were completely depleted and it was left weak as the rest of the attack changed into ectoplasm and rose above Pandora. "FINISH HIM!"

"YUGI!" Mokuba cried.

"NOOOOOO!" Seto cried out, feeling so helpless that he couldn't save his friend. He would never forgive this creep if anything happened to Atem or any part of him, even if his alter ego was involved. Seto felt hatred and vengance growing while watching the ectoplasm about to reach Atem.

_"I guess this is... goodbye?"_ Yugi muttered as a tear slowly rolled down his left eye.

Then, ectoplasm appeared from Yugi's Dark Magician and flew in front of Yugi in a protective position, then formed into a ghostly version of Yugi's Dark Magician.

_"NO!"_ Dark Magician cried as Yugi gasped, his eyes flying open. _"I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY FRIEND!"_

The ectoplasm hit Yugi's Dark Magician instead, protecting Yugi from any onslaught. Even Seto was horrifically shocked by this, yet wasn't surprised why this happened. Seto knew in his heart if that were Kisara, she would've done the same. One thing that Pandora could never understand was the fact that Dark Magician and Yugi shared a close bond that could never be broken by anyone or anything.

_"No way,"_ Mokuba whispered, watching the whole scene.

Pandora stood there in shock. Even though neither player could barely hear what they were saying, Pandora could see that Yugi never moved his lips to command his Dark Magician to protect him. It was as if Dark Magician had a mind of his own. Yugi looked at Dark Magician's ectoplasm in awe as he watched his close friend slowly disappear into smoke.

_"Mahad,"_ Yugi muttered as the magician slowly disappeared. "I will not let your sacrifice be in vein."

"VERY WELL, LET'S CONTINUE SHALL WE?" Pandora glared before peering at his cards. "I place one card face-down and end my turn!" He then showed a devious smirk. "I KNOW FOR A FACT YOU DON'T HAVE ANOTHER DARK MAGICIAN IN YOUR DECK, BUT I HAVE TWO MORE! FACE IT, YUGI, YOU CANNOT WIN!"

"WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!" Yugi glared before drawing his next card. "I summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts in attack mode!"

"Then I unleash my trap, Devil's Scales!" Pandora said as a scale-like Venus Fly Trap appeared on the field. "This weighs the number of monsters you have and makes them equal to mine and since I have no monsters, yours are wiped from the field!" Devil's Scales took Yugi's monsters on one side of the scale, and then crunched them, destroying them. Yugi had no monsters left on the field. "Now that you have no monsters on the field. The only hope you've got are those spells or traps and I know just how to take care of that little problem!" Pandora smirked as he played his spell card. "I play Anti-Magic Arrows! This destroys any face-down cards!" Yugi gasped as he saw arrows stab through his folded cards. "Now, I play my other spell card Dark Magic Curtain by paying half my life points to special summon my second Dark Magician!"

_"NO!"_ Atem gasped as he saw a dark curtain appear on Pandora's field and Dark Magician appeared brave and bold on the field.

"FINISH HIM!" Pandora declared as his Dark Magician waved his wand and ready to strike the rest of Yugi's life points.

"What should we do?" Yugi asked in panic.

_"I don't know, I..."_ Atem replied, filled with panic, then he felt something inside him.

_"Let me help!"_ a mysterious voice cried to Atem. He gasped and knew that voice anywhere.

_"Yugi, let me take over! I have an idea!"_ Atem cried out as Yugi nodded and changed into his brother.

All of a sudden, a dark curtain appeared on Atem's field, which gave Pandora a gasped. Seto and Mokuba rose two eyebrows, wondering what was happening. Dark Magician was in the graveyard, so there was no way that Yugi could summon him back, unless he had two Dark Magicians like Pandora._ What was going on?_

"What?" Pandora gasped in horror.

"I'LL BE CONTINUING FROM HERE! YUGI'S NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO POSSESSES A SOUL CARD! YOU ALREADY KNOW YUGI'S SOUL CARD IS DARK MAGICIAN, SO NOW IT'S TIME TO SHOW YOU MINE!" Atem declared with a deep smirk up his lips as he paid half his life points.

"B-BUT THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! YOU ONLY HAVE ONE DARK MAGICIAN!"

"I NEVER SAID I WAS SUMMONING DARK MAGICIAN!"

"BUT DARK MAGIC CURTAIN ONLY REQUIRES YOU TO SUMMON A DARK MAGICIAN!" Seto cried out in confusion.

"A DARK MAGICIAN _TYPE_!" Atem corrected as Seto furrowed his eyebrows in curiosity to figure out what his friend was talking about. "IT'S TIME FOR ME TO INTRODUCE TO YOU A PUPIL OF MAHAD'S!" The dark curtains flew open and from the curtains came a beautiful blond young girl with a blue and pink dressy outfit, boots, and a wand in her hand. She held bright green eyes and a perky personality. Seto was wondering if he was at a modeling convention or not.

"Damn, she's hot!" Mokuba blurted out.

"THIS IS DARK MAGICIAN GIRL, BUT I CALL HER MANA!" Atem smirked as Dark Magician Girl hovered over the field.

"D-Dark Magician Girl?" Pandora squeaked, then noticed the life point differences. "BUT SHE HAS 2000 ATTACK POINTS WHILE DARK MAGICIAN HAS 2500!"

"YES, BUT HER SPECIAL ABILITY KICKS IN! HER ATTACK POINTS RISE TO 500 PER DARK MAGICIAN IN EITHER GRAVEYARD, INCLUDING YOURS!" Atem said as Pandora gasped and watched Dark Magician Girl's attack rise by 1000, making the attack 3000. Since there were two Dark Magicians in Atem's and Pandora's graveyard, Dark Magician Girl's attack grew higher than Pandora's second Dark Magician. Dark Magician attacked Dark Magician Girl, but she deflected it back to it and destroyed it. Pandora stared at Atem in horror. "DARK MAGICIAN GIRL, FINISH HIM!"

_"With pleasure!"_ Dark Magician Girl smirked as she blasted Pandora and the rest of his life points. She turned her head and gave a small wink. _"We did it, partner."_ Then laid a small kiss on Atem's cheek before disappearing.

_'It's a good thing Joey's not here or he'd _never_ see the end of this,'_ Atem thought in his mind.

_"I know I sure won't,"_ Yugi replied while chuckling.

"Shut up!" Atem shouted, but not before noticing the box from below his feet open to retrieve the key needed for his escape. He quickly unlocked the shackles from his ankles while the blade began buzzing toward Pandora's feet.

"NO! HELP ME! HELP ME, PLEASE!" Pandora begged as the blade began moving toward his direction and Seto and Mokuba quickly ran to Pandora's position.

"SETO CATCH!" Atem cried out while throwing the key to Seto before he caught it and quickly unlocked Pandora's shackles, then pulling him from the saw, thus saving his life. The blades then automatically turned off.

"That was too close," Mokuba said, panting.

"Congratulations, you managed to escape from nearly getting yourself killed!" Seto shouted at Atem.

"You were scared, weren't you?" Atem smirked teasingly.

"NO!" Seto replied with anger in his eyes before Atem chuckled, then slapped his friend on the back.

"I love you too," Atem teased as Seto gave him an annoying glare, which then turned to a smile.

"You kinda gave me a heart attack too!" Mokuba cried out.

"At least your voice isn't sore," Atem said before clearing his throat. "That duel was seriously f***ed up."

"I know!"


	14. Summon the Nightmare

**Flightfoot: Yeah, though there's also the part of Seto and Mokuba being trapped, so they'd only have time after the game is over.**

**Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't updated in like forever. I want to finish up Spirit World Duelist to start on Always Together and there was also the one shot Who Wants to Die? It's a good story, you seriously should read it. It's based on the song Hero by Superchick. Anyways, review please!**

Pandora's forehead began showing a third eye on his forehead that glowed brightly. Seto and Atem gasped, then showed deep glares. They knew it was Marik talking this time.

"Marik!" Atem glared as the possessed Pandora chuckled manically.

_"So, we finally meet again, Atem,"_ Marik replied though Pandora.

"How do you know my name?"

_"I have ways of knowing things. I figured you would defeat Pandora. It was nice he could keep you busy, while I figure out your strategy of dueling. After all, I need to prepare myself for our upcoming battle."_

"What is it you want from Yugi?"

_"I told you, revenge."_

"Yes, but what has he done to you for you to go as far as to want to have your f***ing _revenge_?"

_"I suppose it's fair for me to explain things, even to a pathetic vessel."_

"You want pathetic, I'll stick a d*** up your ass."

_"Very cleaver,"_ the possessed Pandora smirked in reply. _"As I was saying: my family and I have been guarding the Pharaoh's tomb for years. Each day we're hidden from society underground to protect the Pharaoh's legacy and mark them on our backs. One day, my sister took me to the outside world, my father catching me red handed. Next thing I knew, he was dead on the floor and blood everywhere. That's when I saw _him_, his spirit."_

_"But I don't remember any of that,"_ Yugi said next to Atem._ "I was locked in the tomb for 3000 years with nobody to see me or touch me. There's no way that could've been me."_

"So you think Yugi killed your father?" Atem asked Marik.

_"I saw him! It couldn't have been anyone else. Once my revenge is complete, I will be the new Pharaoh and take what should've been rightfully mine,"_ Marik said inside Pandora. _"Of course, I'll have to dispose of this one. I'll just destroy his soul room and there will be nothing left of him."_ Pandora then dropped dead to the ground with no pulse.

"So that's why Marik wants to kill Yugi," Atem whispered, then facing Seto. "He thinks Yugi killed his father, but there's no way. Yugi couldn't even touch me before I solved the puzzle."

"This Marik guy seems troublesome. He's even hiring Rare Hunters to kill other duelists. We need to keep our eyes peeled," Seto warned his friend.

"I hope the next duel isn't like this one," Mokuba said.

"You threatened to cut my fingers only last year," Atem smirked.

"Well... cutting fingers doesn't kill anyone!"

"Whatever you say, Mokuba."

Mokuba rolled his eyes as Seto made a slight chuckle. The three exited from _Trading Cards_ and began walking down the sidewalk. _'Jetson Street,'_ Atem thought after leaving the shop. Yugi was starting to worry about his brother spouting out directions. Atem kept spouting out where him and Seto were located, looking for other duelists.

_"Brother, mind if I take over again?"_ Yugi asked, feeling more safe. Atem turned to Yugi's direction. _"We might run into one of Marik's minions again. I'll let you know if it's a normal duelist."_

_'Alright,'_ Atem agreed before letting Yugi take his place.

Yugi walked toward a riverside under a bridge. He slid down the ramp with Seto following behind him. _'Riverside under Domino Bridge,'_ Yugi heard Atem think though their mind link. Yugi stared at the river as it flowed passed him.

_'Brother, don't you think it's strange for you to spout out street names whenever we pass them?'_ Yugi asked as Atem furrowed his eyebrows, then stared at the river.

_"It is. I didn't think you could hear it through our mind link. I don't know why I'm doing it,"_ Atem admitted.

_'I'd think maybe Marik has something to do with it, but you never took off the puzzle once since the tournament.'_

_"Yes... wait, I did take it off during the Ceremony, but... no Ryan would've picked it up."_

_'I don't know. Marik can control two people at once... Maybe I'm just overreacting.'_

_"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."_

_'I suppose.'_

"Why are you stopping?" Seto asked as Yugi turned.

"I was talking to Brother. Anyways, we should probably keep moving."

_"Hello Pharaoh!"_ a voice greeted from behind the two. Yugi glared and saw a man with piercings all over his face and lips. He also had a third eye on his forehead. _"We meet again."_

"Listen Marik, I don't know what happened or how, but I promise you I didn't kill your father!" Yugi said.

_"I suppose you're a deceitful lair as well. You could at least admit what you did!"_

"I promise you I really didn't."

_"_That's enough!_ It's time to duel Pharaoh and face an Egyptian god in the flesh. This one has the god Slifer the Sky Dragon and I'm sure you need that to take your precious throne."_

"I'll take you on!" Yugi said, putting on his game face before turning his duel disk on. They drew their first five cards. Marik's doll went first and drew his first card.

_"I place one card face-down, then summon Humaniod Slime in attack mode,"_ Marik said through his silent doll as Humaniod Slime appeared as a silver gooey figure. Yugi narrowed his eyes, suspecting that Marik was luring him to attack. _"Your turn."_

"Ok then," Yugi replied before drawing his next card. "I fold one card, then summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts in attack mode!" Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts appeared ready for attack. "I end my turn."

_"No attack? Rather you're being cautious or a coward. No matter, I'll still kill you with my own bare hands,"_ the doll smirked.

"Uh Marik... this is a game and we're using cards, which means..."

_"SHUT UP AND DUEL!"_

"But it's your turn."

_"I KNOW THAT!"_ The doll yelled before drawing his next card. _"I play Worm Drake, then I use a spell card from my hand: Polymerization, to fusion summon Humanoid Drake in attack mode!"_

_"Oh shit,"_ Atem responded to the fusion monster.

_"And I reveal my face-down card Quick Attack,"_ the doll declared as Yugi and Atem gasped at the same time.

_"Double shit,"_ Atem responded.

_"Compared to you, I'm not afraid to attack my opponents. I don't wait until I have the upper hand,"_ the doll smirked. _"Humanoid Drake, attack Yugi's Gazelle!"_

Humanoid Drake ran toward Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts. Yugi showed a smirk, then declared, "I reveal my face-down card De-Fusion!" Marik's doll gasped as his monster Humanoid Drake split back into Humanoid Slime and Worm Drake. "I knew you would go for Polymerization when you summoned Humanoid Slime. It's a faster way of summoning a monster without wasting a turn. Now, my Gazelle can attack your Humanoid Slime!"

Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts pounced on Humanoid Slime, then it splattered everywhere into silver goo. Marik's life points were left with 3300 life points. The doll glared in annoyance as Yugi showed a bright and fun-loving smile along with a childish laugh. Marik smirked deeply and began laughing.

_"Not bad. You really are the King of Games,"_ Marik's doll smirked before drawing his next card._ "Able to predict my first move and counter it. Perhaps maybe you weren't just being cautious. You're quite the duelist, Yugi. I'll start getting a little tougher this time._

"I believe it's my turn!" Yugi smirked before drawing his next card. "I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior!" Beta the Magnet Warrior appeared on the field bold and brave. "Gazelle, attack Worm Drake!" Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts attacked Worm Drake and wiped it from the field, leaving Marik with 3200 life points remaining.

_"Then it's my turn!"_ Marik's Doll replied before drawing his next monster. _"I summon Revival Jam in defense mode."_ Revival Jam appeared as a shapeless blue goo. _"Then, I use my spell card Jam Breeding Machine. This produces one slime token once every turn, but as long as this is on the field, I can't summon any other monsters."_

_"Shit, he's planning on using that thing to gain three sacrifices!"_ Atem realized.

"I know," Yugi replied. "It takes three sacrifices to summon a god. At least according to Seto."

_"It seems you're already aware of the gods' power,"_ the doll smirked.

"I am," Yugi replied before drawing his next card. "I sacrifice my two monsters to summon Buster Blader!" Buster Blader appeared boldly in attack mode. "Attack Revival Jam!" Buster Blader took its long sword and sliced Revival Jam in half. The blue goo splattered everywhere before morphing back into its original shape. "Oh shit, it can regenerate?"

_"Marik is not one to take lightly,"_ Atem realized before a smirk appeared on his lips._ "Now I wish I were the one playing. I envy you, Yugi."_

_"My Revival Jam can regenerate itself. Sorry you had to waste your precious turn,"_ Marik's doll smirked before drawing his next card. _"I believe it's my turn."_ He peered at his cards, then showed a half smirk. _"My Jam Breeding Machine gives me a Slime Token!"_ A slime token appeared from the Jam Breeding Machine and onto Marik's doll's field. _"Of course, these slime tokens are weak and damage from them will take a bulk of my life points, so I'll play Nightmare Steel Cage!"_ Yugi gasped as a steel cage domed around him with huge spikes poking out.

"Holy shit!" Mokuba responded.

_"Now neither of us can attack for three turns!"_ Marik's doll smirked.

"Three turns? That means he'll be able to summon a god!" Mokuba gasped as Seto showed a slight smirk.

"Then this should be interesting," Seto replied.

_"My Jam Breeding Machine activates again!"_ Marik's doll declared on his next turn as another slime token appeared on his field. _"How's it feel being locked in a cage? Can you feel the humiliation and despare and sorrow?"_

"Are you kidding? I'm about to fight a god!" Yugi replied excitedly. "Even Brother is anxious to see it! You didn't have to put this steel cage to prevent me from letting you summon a god."

_"You... want me to summon Slifer?"_ Marik asked dumbfoundedly.

"Duh!" Yugi and Seto replied together.

"It'd be boring if I kicked your butt without you summoning Slifer," Yugi pointed out.

_"Well I... huh, I guess you have a point,"_ Marik's doll said with furrowed eyebrows. He then smirked brightly. _"I mean it's not like I'm planning on killing you now. I'm saving that for later."_

"If you want to kill Yugi, why not do it now instead of wasting your time dueling?" Seto asked grimly.

_"Because Yugi's good with sword fighting and horseback riding. That'd be like trying to kill a knight. I have to find another way of doing it,"_ Marik's doll said as if he knew everything.

"Yugi's good at sword fighting?" Mokuba asked in surprise.

_"Anyways, my machine makes another token and I sacrifice all three Slime Tokens, destroying Jam Machine, to summon out Slifer the Sky Dragon!"_ Marik's doll declared boldy as Slifer appeared like a red leviathan. Yugi gasped in amazement as the dragon made a tremendous roar._ "YOU HAVE NO HOPE YUGI! CAN YOU FEEL THE FEAR POURING THROUGH YOUR VEINS?"_

"Wait, can you hold for a second?" Yugi asked before changing to Atem. He dug into his pocket to retrieve a camera, then threw it to Seto.

"Seto, I need you to take a shot of this! Nobody's gonna believe this!" Atem said as Seto showed a smirk, then backed up a few inches to catch the shot of Marik's doll and Atem. "Make sure you get my good side!" He pumped his arm, then Seto rolled his eyes. Atem made himself look like he was looking at his cards inside the steel cage before Seto took the picture.

"Got it!" Seto said before throwing the camera back to Atem and he saw the picture.

"Sweet! You even got Slifer's good side," Atem said before noticing the doll's annoyed face. "Sorry, I'll let your duel with Yugi continue. I just had to get a picture of this bad boy." Atem then changed to Yugi.

"Where was I? Oh yeah. Wow, Slifer is huge! This is so awesome!" Yugi said with a bright smile. His arms and legs were shaking in excitement. "Someone pinch me!"

"I can do..." Mokuba said before Seto stopped his brother by grabbing him by the back of the collar.

"Not Atem," Seto told Mokuba.

_"Well... Slifer's attack points equal to the number of cards I have in my hand times 1000,"_ Marik's doll explained, showing the cards in his hand, which was three. _"I have three, so Slifer has 3000 attack points."_

"Wicked!" Yugi replied with beaming eyes. "That means Slifer's attack points can go up to 7000 in maximum!"

_"Or so you think, I actually have a card that can make it go higher!"_ Marik's doll smirked before playing his spell card Infinite Cards. _"With this, I can have an infinite amount of cards! Nightmare Steel Cage also disappears on your next turn after this one, so Slifer can start his slaughter!"_

"Sweet!" Yugi grinned brightly before drawing his next card. "I play two cards face-down. Sucks I can't attack. Oh well, I'll just summon Kuriboh and end my turn." Kuriboh appeared on the field before the steel cage disappeared.

_"That steel cage now disappears and Slifer can start its onslaught! My turn!"_ Marik's doll smirked before drawing his next card. Slifer the Sky Dragon's attack points rose to 4000. _"Now, Slifer attack Yugi's Buster Blader!"_

"TRAP! LIGHTFORCE SWORD!" Yugi smirked as Marik's doll gasped and a large sword stabbed through one of his cards. "This will remove one of your cards from play until your fourth turn! Now, Slifer has 3000 attack."

_"Shit!"_ Marik's doll gasped as Buster Blader took its sword and was about to slice through Slifer the Sky Dragon until Revival Jam took its place. _"Ooooo, close, but no cigar. I also revealed my trap called Jam Defender. Now, if you attack any of my monsters, Revival Jam will take its place."_ Revival Jam regenerated itself just as Marik's doll used another card. _"Now, I can use my spell card Card of Safe Return. This allows me to draw three cards everytime my Revival Jam regenerates itself."_

"Shit Marik, you are awesome!" Yugi said with excitement in his voice. "Slifer's attack points now go to 5000, man, aren't I screwed." He laughed loudly as Seto slapped his forehead.

"He's crazy! Even you would be annoyed, but Yugi's just having a ball," Mokuba said.

Seto chuckled sarcastically saying, "that's his way of dueling. He just has fun with it like a moron."

_"You know Yugi, I'm really envying you for not playing against this guy, he's awesome!"_ Atem smirked with his arms crossed.

_"SLIFER ATTACKS BUSTER BLADER!"_ Marik's doll cried out as Slifer the Sky Dragon blew a huge blast of fire at Buster Blader and wiped it from the field, leaving Yugi with 2100. He was still laughing and cracking up.

"This is awesome, I just got blasted by Slifer. I'm definitely dreaming!" Yugi laughed excitedly.

_"What is with you, you pathetic nerd? I'm about to win and you're just laughing at it like it's no big deal! If you lose, you lose your chance to get your memories back!"_ Marik's Doll glared with frustration.

"Yeah, but I can stay with Brother forever!" Yugi said as Atem turned his head toward the young pharaoh. "I mean, yeah there's things to lose, but there are things to gain too. If I gain my memories, Brother and I will have to seperate and I'll probably never see him again.

"Really?" Mokuba asked as Yugi nodded his head. "Wow, I can see his point. I wouldn't want to leave Seto either."

"Anyways, it's my turn!" Yugi declared before drawing his next card. He peered through his hand, his mind wondering into different ways to defeat Marik.

From what Marik could tell, Yugi really was struggling. He was taking longer than usual to make a move, but yet he was still laughing and having fun like a little child. This was nothing like Marik predicted the pharaoh would be like. It was true that the scriptures told this pharaoh was very _childlike_, but Marik thought it meant the features. He never would've imagined Yugi to actually _act_ childish. This was no ordinary king.

"I'm gonna sacrifice Kuriboh to summon Dark Magician Girl in defense mode!" Yugi declared as Dark Magician Girl appeared, then winked at Atem. Yugi chuckled at that scene as Atem rolled his eyes in annoyance.

_"You activated Slifer's special ability,"_ Marik's doll smirked as Slifer shot a blast from its second mouth. _"When you summon a monster, it deals 2000 points of damage!"_

"Then I reveal my trap, Magical Hats!" Yugi smirked as four hats appeared, one of them covering Dark Magician Girl. Slifer the Sky Dragon blasted one of the hats and it disappeared from the field. _"Nanny, nanny, boo, boo, you can't catch me!"_ Yugi sang in a mocking tone while shaking his butt at Marik's doll. He glared with annoyance before Yugi stuck his tongue out. "I place two cards face-down and end my turn. Wow, this is fun!"

"_Whatever, I'm still gonna kick your ass and win this game!"_ Marik's doll glared before drawing his next card. _"Slifer, attack that hat!"_ Slifer the Sky Dragon shot a blast of fire balls at one of the magical hats, revealing Magic Cylinder. The blast entered one of the cylinders. _"SHIT!"_

"Nice try, Marik," Yugi smirked before Spellbinding Circle took a hold of Slifer the Sky Dragon. "I hid Spellbinding Circle and Magic Cylinder under that hat!" The blast from Slifer the Sky Dragon blasted out of the other cylinder and aimed right at the dragon. Revival Jam appeared in the dragon's place and reformed itself.

_"Yes, but my Revival Jam protects Slifer! Face it Yugi, you're screwed!"_ Marik's doll smirked before drawing three more cards. _"I also draw three more cards since Revival Jam regenerated itself! Now, Slifer's attack points rise by 3000!"_

Spellbinding Circle then disappeared and Slifer the Sky Dragon's attack showed 8000 attack. Yugi's knees dropped to the ground and his head bent over. Marik smirked, seeing Yugi on his knees and shaking, making a weeping sound. Marik's doll was heard laughing aloud for his final victory and Yugi's spirit finally broken. Seto stared at Yugi in shock, but not before noticing something about his _weeping_, it sounded like... _laughter?_

Yugi's laugh grew louder and louder as tears squeezed through his eyelids that were tightly closed shut. Marik gasped in horror, realizing his misunderstanding. Yugi was not broken, his spirit had grown stronger. He was found rolling on the ground with his arms around his stomach laughing like a crazy lunatic.

_"WHAT'S SO DAMN FUNNY? YOU'RE ABOUT TO LOSE THIS GAME?"_ Marik's doll yelled frantically.

"That's what's funny," Yugi said before wiping his tears. "When I lose, Seto's gonna throw a fit and burn me alive!" He began laughing again. "And then he'll destroy my afterlife too." Yugi kept laughing and laughing until Seto's head boiled.

"YUGI, GET ON YOUR DAMN FEET! YOU ARE NOT F***ING LOSING THIS GAME!" Seto yelled.

"But I am screwed!" Yugi argued while laughing his head off.

"YOU ARE NOT F***ING SCREWED NOW GET ON YOUR DAMN FEET!"

"Ok, ok, gee," Yugi replied while rolling his eyes, then began chuckling. He drew his next card. "Here goes nothing! I place Big Shield Guardna in defense mode, then fold one card!"

Slifer the Sky Dragon opened its second mouth and blasted Big Shield Guardna, taking away 2000 points from its defense. Yugi smirked, knowing his monster was still safe, since it had over 2000 defense. Atem began wondering how Yugi was going to defeat Slifer the Sky Dragon if Marik can draw an infinite amount of cards. It seemed that Yugi didn't have any ideas.

"I believe it's my turn," Marik's doll smirked before drawing his next card.

_"Any ideas?"_ Atem asked.

_'No clue, but that infinite amount of attack points is making Slifer stronger,'_ Yugi replied.

_"How can you defeat a monster with infinite amount of attack points? Marik might as well use his deck as attack points."_

_'Brother, you're a genius! You just brought me an idea of how to defeat Marik!'_

_"Uh... I did?"_

_'Just watch.'_

_"Slifer attacks your pathetic monster!"_ Marik's doll smirked victoriously as Yugi showed a deeper smirk. _"What's it this time?"_

"Brother just hatched an idea of how to defeat Slifer," Yugi replied before looking at his deck. "It depends if I can draw the right card."

"This should be good," Seto smirked as Yugi drew his final card and peered at it.

"ALRIGHT! I WIN! I WIN! I WIN!" Yugi shouted excitedly while jumping up and down like a three-year-old. "I REVEAL MY FACE-DOWN CARD MONSTER REBORN TO BRING BACK BUSTER BLADER!" Monster Reborn appeared and Buster Blader returned to the field in attack mode.

_"YOU'RE CRAZY!"_ Marik's doll shouted insanely.

"NO I'M NOT, I'M PULLING OFF MY SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME SUPER COMBO!" Yugi shouted in excitement while jumping up and down. "WATCH ME, BROTHER! WATCH ME!"

_"BUT BECAUSE YOU REVIVED YOUR MONSTER, I CAN DRAW THREE MORE CARDS, WHICH..."_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. I know what your trap does, now are you gonna watch my super special awesome super combo or not?" Yugi asked impatiently as Marik sighed in annoyance while rolling his eyes. "Anyways, Slifer attacks!" Slifer the Sky Dragon opened its second mouth and a blast headed toward Buster Blader, leaving it with 1100 attack. "Then Buster Blader attacks!"

"YUGI, ARE YOU NUTS?" Mokuba asked with panic on his face.

"UGH! HOLD A SEC, I'M GETTING TO THE SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME PART!" Yugi glared with annoyance, then turned back to Marik. "Anyways, Revival Jam then blocks Buster Blader's attack!" Revival Jam, took Slifer the Sky Dragon's place and Buster Blader attacked it instead. "Now, I use Brain Control to control your Revival Jam!"

_"WHAT?"_ Marik's doll glared.

"Oh, you also have to draw three more cards," Yugi grinned as Marik drew three more cards. "Oh, and Slifer attacks!" Slifer the Sky Dragon opened it's second mouth and fired a great blast right at Revival Jam before it regenerated. "Then you draw three more cards, then Slifer strikes Revival Jam again, then you draw three more cards and... well you get the idea. Try that for infinite! Your cards are not infinite, Marik, so you've drawn your last card!"

_"F***ING SHIT!"_

"Holy f***! That was pure genius!" Mokuba cried before laughing his head off. "Not even I could've seen that!"

"Impressive," Seto smirked with folded arms.

"You really did corner me, Marik. I had lots of fun!" Yugi grinned.

_"SHUT UP!"_ Marik's doll shouted before sliding the puzzle card and Slifer the Sky Dragon. _"I was expecting you to win Slifer anyways! Just know we're enemies and became that when you killed my father!"_

"I told you, I never killed him. I don't even know what he looks like... in fact, I don't know what _you_ look like," Yugi said with a sorrowful face. "I wish we weren't enemies. I like you alot and you're really fun to play with."

_"You'll be having second thoughts when two of my rare hunters get a hold of two familiar faces. Does Hanaski and Joey sound familiar?"_

"NO! STOP THIS! I DIDN'T KILL YOUR FATHER! HONEST!" Yugi cried aloud with tears bursting from his eyes.

_"ENOUGH!"_ Marik's doll shouted. _"You better hurry before something bad happens to them."_

* * *

><p>In the middle of the Town Square, Tea and Hanaski were running down the street looking for Yugi. It had been at least four hours since the Battle City Tournament started and they were searching everywhere for their friends. Hanaski wanted to watch his best friend play in the tournament and felt extremely guilty for oversleeping on the most important day. Tea also wanted to watch Yugi duel.<p>

"I can't believe I overslept!" Hanaski shouted frantically.

"I overslept too! Oh shit, I hope Yugi doesn't kill me!" Tea said worriedly.

"I'm sure he won't get mad."

"I suppose. Yugi's always been the forgiving type."

Hanaski shoved through tons of people to find Joey or Yugi, mostly Yugi. Tea was only thinking about watching Yugi duel. She was anxious to find her boyfriend. There were tons of duelists everywhere and groups of people watching a good duel. Tea couldn't find one duel that included Yugi in them.

Hanaski did, however, find one duel with Joey. He was dueling against Weevil, who was just attacked directly by Archfiend of Gilfer. Weevil's life points dropped to 0 and Joey pumped his arm with a deep smirk on his face.

"HA! Guess I'm not that much of an amateur, now am I?" Joey smirked victoriously.

"I have to admit, you're not as weak as the first time I met you. I can see how you defeated Rex and Mai. I suppose you are honorable enough to have my Insect Queen," Weevil said, handing Joey Insect Queen and a locator card. "If you leave even once scratch on that, I'm gonna blow your brains out!"

"Don't worry. Her majesty is in good hands," Joey promised as Weevil showed a friendly smirk, then waved goodbye before leaving.

"Guess we missed all the fun," Tea smirked as Joey turned his head and showed a grin.

"Are you kidding? I had a blast! I just kicked Weevil's silly ass! He asked for it too. He challenged me to a duel after finding out I defeated Rex and Mai. Said he wanted to see for himself," Joey explained, showing off.

"That's awesome, Joey!" Hanaski replied excitedly. "Oh, have you seen Yugi or Atem by any chance?"

"Not that I know of. We separated after the tournament began. Last I heard from him, him and Kaiba were kicking some serious ass," Joey replied.

"He's not the only one," Ryan smirked, appearing from behind the gang.

"Ryan, how you coming?" Tea asked.

"Four locator cards, does that answer your question?" Ryan replied with a deep smirk while showing four locator cards. "I even gained some additional rare cards."

"Shit Ryan! You really know how ta duel!" Joey smirked.

"Uh guys, we're still looking for Yugi or Atem," Tea reminded the boys.

"Haven't heard from either," Ryan replied. "Though, I'm sure they're doing fine."

"So, what kind of deck are you using?" Hanaski asked curiously.

"An occult theme. I can use my opponent's attack as my life points," Ryan replied with a deep dark smirk.

"Just the sound of it gives me the creeps," Joey replied as Ryan rolled his eyes.

_"Baby."_

"I HEARD THAT!"

"Anyways, how about you use the duelist meter to check for a nearby duelist?"

"You can do that?" Hanaski asked in amazement.

"Yeah, it's built into the duel disk," Joey replied before turning on the duelist meter. It began beeping toward a curtain direction. "This way!"

"I'll just find another duelist to kick ass with."

With that, Joey, Tea, and Hanaski left the area and ran toward an aquarium. Ryan's hair started blowing in the wind and his face changed to a scowl. This wasn't Ryan at all, but Yami Ryou pretending to be Ryan. He had been the one dueling since the tournament started.

Marik appeared behind Yami Ryou with a deep dark smirk on his face.

"Nice job with disguising yourself. I'll just take Joey and Hanaski as my two prisoners, then I'll finally have my revenge," Marik smirked.

"He won't be easy to take down," Yami Ryou warned Marik. "And Ryan is putting up a good fight."

"Don't worry about him. I've already got him covered, _remember_?" Marik smirked, showing the millennium rod.

"His mind is stronger than you think."

"So is Atem's, but I still took control of him."

"Only by a minimum. If you let your control go any farther, Atem can easily penetrate your control. One with a strong mind can overcome your_ millennium rod_. I would know."

"Oh really?"

"Yes," Yami Ryou replied with no emotion. "As a Tomb Guardian, we're technically _enemies_."

"Yes, but we want to destroy the pharaoh."

"Only for pathetic revenge. I want to destroy him for power. In fact, if your father wasn't in the picture, you'd be defending Yugi with your very life. Revenge is such a weak thing, Marik. In time, you will learn that."

"I will _never_ defend the pharaoh for anything!"

"No, but the true enemy isn't him either."

Marik glared at Yami Ryou as his eyes darkened, then said, "you know, abuse can do very interesting things in a person's mind. Your mind is filled with abuse that you try to make go away like your father whiping you, watching your precious brother being beaten, your sister and yourself raped, and other things while being in the darkness. They say you start _seeing_ things that aren't there and possibly develop the very thing you're really fighting. You may seem strong, but even I can sense your very weakness in the mind."

"I'M NOT WEAK!"

"You are... more than you can admit to yourself," Yami Ryou replied before walking from Marik, who continued to glare at his partner in crime.


	15. Full Strength

**From time to time, I will switch to Seto and Yugi, but for now this will be with Joey and the gang. This will be the duel with Mako. Even though I'm not having the duel with Joey and Weevil, I'm still gonna have Joey duel Mako. Review please!**

Tristan and Duke were walking side by side in the hallways inside the hospital of Domino City. Duke was informed by Atem to check on Serenity, who was recovering from her operation, and give her a cell phone. Serenity didn't have a phone with her and Atem was not willing to put up with calling the hospital and go through the trouble of having doctors send his call to the _right_ room. It was easier to just have some friends let Serenity borrow their phone. Tristan decided to tag along.

Tristan felt nervous, since he had never been in a hospital since his sister's birth with Jouji. That still gave him the creeps. Despite this, Tristan was curious to see Joey's sister. He never knew until Duelist Kingdom that Joey had a sister and only knew that she was having eye surgery and now was having trouble removing her bandages.

Duke sighed while making his way through the hallway. He spotted a dirty blond older woman in her late thirties by Serenity's room door.

"Are you Mrs. Wheeler?" Duke asked the woman.

"Yes, who are you?" Mrs. Wheeler asked.

"I'm Duke, Atem's close friend. This is Tristan," Duke introduced, pointing to Tristan. "We're here to check on Serenity since Atem and Joey are busy with Battle City. They also want to make sure Serenity has some way to contact them since Atem is too freakin' lazy to call the hospital."

The mother chuckled as Duke held a smirk. She replied, "Of course. The boys told me about you two. My daughter's in there. I'll let her know she has visitors." She entered inside the room where Serenity sat on her bed, clutching on her legs. She had a bandage over her eyes and seemed depressed. "Honey, you've got some visitors. They're friends of Joey and Atem!"

"Really?" Serenity asked with excitement in her voice. "Bring them in!"

Duke and Tristan entered the room. Duke held a smile, noticing the young fragile girl on the bed in her hospital gown. She seemed to carry a huge amount of innocents. Duke had to admit, Atem had good taste in girls. He was starting to feel jealous of Atem having an extremely beautiful girlfriend, not that he felt this way toward Serenity.

Tristan was still unaware that Atem was dating Serenity. At the first sight of the young girl, Tristan fell head over heels for her. She was extremely beautiful with her blond hair, soft skin, and a small innocent smile. Tristan felt hearts popping in his eyeballs.

"So, you're Serenity?" Duke asked as the girl nodded.

"What's your name?" Serenity asked.

"Duke Devilin, this is Tristan Taylor," Duke introduced himself and Tristan.

Tristan took Serenity's soft hand and lightly kissed it, replying, _"nice to meet you."_

Serenity giggled, slightly suspecting Tristan's puppy dog crush on her. She felt extreme pity on the poor boy. Serenity decided to worry about that later. She still had her fears of taking off her bandages and wanted to see Atem again. Serenity leaned back against the bed, that was inclined upward for her to sit up, and covered her legs with the blankets.

"Nice to meet you too," Serenity said. "What brings you here?"

"Well, Atem is too lazy to call the hospital, so he sent me and Tristan to fetch you a phone," Duke replied, digging into his pocket and giving Serenity a cell phone.

"Thanks," Serenity thanked while flipping the phone. "Last time Joey tried to call me, it took him hours before he could reach me and it was worse for Atem."

"Shit really?" Tristan gasped before being elbowed by Duke. _"Ow!"_

_"Shut your mouth up, Joey and Atem will eat you alive if you swear in front of Serenity,"_ Duke warned Tristan in a whisper, making it to where Serenity couldn't hear. Tristan blushed cherry red.

"Yeah," Serenity replied to Tristan while dialing the numbers on the phone to call her boyfriend. There were a few rings, then someone picked up the phone.

_"Hello?"_ A voice answered, which sounded like Atem, but it seemed off.

"Atem, is that you?" Serenity asked excitedly.

_"_Serena_... uh how are you?"_ Yugi asked, pretending to be Atem since Serenity had no clue about Yugi.

"I'm good. Your friends came by for a visit!"

_"My friends?"_

"Duke and Tristan!"

_"Can I talk to Tristan, I need to ask him something important?"_

"What's going on?"

_"I'll explain later, I just need to ask him something real quick."_

Serenity became anxiously worried as she handed Tristan the phone. He asked, "What's up, Man?"

_"Tristan, I need you to contact Hanaski and Joey. They're in grave danger!"_ Yugi warned Tristan as his face turned pale._ "Marik is trying to hold them hostage and I need you to warn them before it's too late!"_

"Who's Marik?"

_"He's the one with the millennium rod, like Ryan, except he thinks I killed his father and is looking for revenge. I think he might be unstabled too."_

"You mean like Seto?"

_"Worse! Please, call them!"_

"I'll do that," Tristan promised before hanging up the phone and dialing Joey's phone number.

"What's going on?" Serenity asked with worry.

"Huh? Uh... nothing," Tristan lied, not wanting Serenity to panic. He was about to leave the hospital room when...

"I know you're lying. What's wrong with Atem? He seemed frantic! He's never like that unless something bad has happened!"

"I promise he's fine. I just need to make an important call."

Tristan left the room and pressed talk to call Joey. A few rings were heard, then someone answered.

_"Hello?"_ Joey answered.

"Joey, is Hanaski with you?" Tristan asked. "Atem_ or Yugi_ just called and said that some guy named Marik is trying to hold you two hostage or something."

_"Marik? That cheapskate!"_ Joey responded angrily. _"Tell Atem we'll be fine. Hanaski's with me and I ain't gonna let Marik make me into a puppet!"_

"A puppet?"

_"Yeah, this guy can use his millennium item to control people."_

"Shit!"

_"Is my sister there?"_

"She's in the room. I'm outside the room."

_"Good. Is there anyone else there?"_

"Duke's here."

_"You and Duke stay with Serenity until she's ready to open her eyes. Don't tell her about what's going on. She still doesn't know about Yugi and I don't want her to get too worried."_

"On it!"

_"Oh, and I kicked Weevil's ass and about to win my last two locator cards!"_

"Nice man! I'll tell your sister that too! I swear Joey, you never told me you had a hot sister."

_"HEY! You stay away from her, lover boy! In fact, you give the phone to Duke!"_

Tristan sighed while rolling his eyes before opening the door and giving the phone to Duke. He narrowed his eyebrows, then put the phone to his ear. He heard everything from Joey and nodded his head.

"On it!" Duke replied to Joey, before hearing more from him. Then Duke burst out laughing. "Oh, that's rich! Don't worry, I'll keep an _eye_ on him." Tristan sighed in annoyance at Joey's overprotectiveness over his sister. Though, little did he know, Joey wasn't just annoyed at the fact Tristan was _crushing on Serenity_. Serenity was dating Atem and Tristan had no idea! Tristan was on high waters!

"What's going on?" Serenity asked.

"Don't worry. Atem and Joey are just in a giff. They'll be fine," Duke reassured. Tristan wished he could make an assuring voice like Duke.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. They've been through worse than this."

Serenity still felt unsure. She wished she was braver, so she could help Atem to whatever _"giff"_ he was dealing with. Serenity barely touched her bandages, covering her eyes, with her fingertips. Duke rose two eyebrows, then began wondering why Serenity never took off her bandages.

"Why aren't you taking off your bandages?" Duke asked.

"I guess I'm scared. What if I open my eyes and never see again?" Serenity replied, then sighed. "I wish I was braver."

"I'm sure you'll be able to see. The operation was a success, so unless you take those bandages off, you'll never see the world."

"I guess I'm a coward," Serenity muttered under her breath.

"You're not a coward, you're a strong woman ready to face anything. It takes courage to go through an operation like that," Tristan disagreed as Serenity showed a small smile.

"You know, Joey and Atem risked everything to make sure you got that operation and they're rooting for you to take off your bandages," Duke said.

"I know they're trying to give me courage, but I can't find any," Serenity admitted. "It's not just my eyes, it's the fact I'm gonna be facing the world and I don't wanna do it alone!"

"You won't be," Tristan promised, putting a comforting hand on the young girl's shoulder. "We all are afraid sometimes. Heck, even your brother is still afraid of mummies." Serenity laughed aloud at the thought. "But we find courage when we're willing to face those fears and risk them."

"I know Joey and his phobias, though he's always been braver than me. Both him and Atem always showed bravery though everything they went through with... _everything_. I just wish I could face the fears they face."

"I'm sure you will."

"Then... maybe... _maybe you're right_," Serenity said with a small smile. "Maybe I can find courage in myself!"

"That's the spirit!" Tristan smirked in reply.

"Mom, may I go to the play room?" Serenity asked.

"Of course sweety," Mrs. Wheeler agreed as Serenity began walking out the door and into the hallway. "Don't you need help?"

"I know my way around here!"

"If you're sure!"

Serenity knew her boyfriend was in trouble and she needed to find her beau and help him. The only problem was that Serenity still had the bandages over her eyes and if the doctors find her in her hospital gown and bandages, they'll send her back to her room. There had to be a way to escape from the hospital without being caught.

Serenity still had to try. She started walking along the walls toward the elevator, hoping the doctors wouldn't question her. She then felt someone grab her shoulder, giving her a short scream.

"Relax, it's me," Duke assured. "I had a feeling you were sneaking off. You're wanting to see Atem aren't you?"

"I know he's in trouble and I want to help him!" Serenity said.

"Ok, but you're gonna need a seeing-eye guy and some clothes. Luckily, I brought some of Tea's stuff just in case you decided to watch your boyfriend in action."

"Thank you so much!"

"No problem. Let me direct you to a bathroom," Duke assisted, leading Serenity to the nearest bathroom. "I'll also let your Ma know that you'll be with Atem."

"Okay!"

* * *

><p>At the aquarium, Joey just got off the phone with Duke and Tristan, who was warning him about Marik <em>and flirting with Serenity<em>. Joey decided to worry about that later. Duke was with the group, so he would keep a good eye on Tristan. Right now, Joey wanted to win two more locator cards to advance to the finals. At the aquarium, there was some sort of Whale Show, the place where the next duelist was located.

When Joey entered the Whale Show, he saw Mako Tsunami, trying to look up close at the killer whale jumping in the air and diving in the water.

_"No way!"_ Joey cried before Mako turned around and showed the biggest grin in Japan.

"Joey Wheeler! Long time no see! Battle City huh?" Mako asked with a huge grin.

"Yep and I'm about to make it to the finals. Just two more locator cards!"

"No kidding! I need two more locator cards too!"

"_Shit!_ Hey Mako, how about it? Let's duel and the winner advances to the finals!" Joey challenged Mako.

"I accept your challenge. I'm curious to see your skills!"

"Then let's duel!" Joey grinned excitedly.

Hanaski and Tea sat on the benches of the Whale Show to watch their friend duel against Mako Tsunami. Hanaski seemed very excited about the duel. They cheered for their friend while being watched by two mysterious beings.

Marik had sent two rare hunters to fetch Joey and Hanaski. Since they were in a public place, it was not a good place to implant control on them. There was also the issue with Tea being in the way. Luckily, Marik had plans of how to kidnap Joey and Hanaski. Until then, Marik would distract Seto and Yugi by sending two other rare hunters. This plan would succeed!

Joey and Mako drew their first five cards. Joey drew his card, and then peered at his hand. A smirk grew across his lips and figured out the perfect strategy to defeating Mako. Joey plotted on summoning Giltia the D. Knight.

"I summon Swordsman of Landstar in defense mode, then fold one card. I end!" Joey declared as Swordsman of Landstar appeared in a defensive position with its little sword sticking out and ready to fight.

"Good, then I play Flying Fish in defense mode!" Mako said as a snaky fish appeared on the field. "Then, I fold one card and end!"

"My turn!" Joey smirked, drawing his next card and not even paying attention to it. "I sacrifice Swordsman of Landstar to summon out..." then saw the monster he was to summon out, Giltia the D. Knight with some tentacles bursting out. "OH CRAP! I FORGOT TO GIVE WEEVIL BACK HIS F***ING PARASITE CARD! OH CRAP! OH CRAP!"

Mako burst out laugh before saying, "I reveal my trap Torrential Tribute, this destroys all your monsters!" A huge wave of water splashed over Joey's monster and destroyed the infected monster. The fisherman continued laughing. "Ok, that's just sad!"

"Uh... _yeah_, I forgot to get that out. I was dueling Weevil and he stuck that thing in my deck using Exchange," Joey explained with redness on his cheeks. He also noticed Tea slapping her forehead and shaking her head.

"Shit! I hear he duels hard core. I'll let you by this time, but no more getting your ass handed to ya!"

"Deal," Joey agreed before Mako drew his next card.

"My Flying Fish attacks you directly!" Mako glared as Flying Fish flew right for Joey.

"You activated my trap, Chasm of Spikes!" Joey smirked as a gaping hole appeared with spikes on the bottom of the ground.

"You moron! A flying monster can't fall into a pit!"

Joey gasped as Flying Fish flew over the pit made by Chasm of Spikes and attacked Joey directly, leaving him with 3200 life points remaining. Mako ended his turn by placing one card face-down. Joey peered at his hand and decided to go for a different strategy. He was still trying to be the best duelist he could be. Nothing was going to stand in his way.

"I play Alligator Sword, then fold two cards. I end!" Joey declared as Mako showed a slight smirk.

"I sacrifice Flying Fish to summon out Amphibian Beast!" Mako said as his Flying Fish disappeared and was replaced by Amphibian Beast. It looked like a half man half fish creature from the deep. "Amphibian Beast, destroy Joey's Alligator!"

"Not so fast, I activate Fairy Box!" Joey smirked as a Wack-A-Mole box appeared and Alligator Sword kept popping its head out from different holes. "Which one, which one."

"In that case, I activate Umi, which covers the whole area filled with water!" Mako smirked as he activated his field spell and the whole place was covered with water. Tiny bubbles appeared over one of the holes. "Now, my Amphibian Beast attacks that hole and destroys Alligator Sword!"

"Which is why I'm activating my other trap, Skull Dice," Joey replied as Mako gasped awestruck. A little man with a bat-winged hat tossed a red die and it landed on a 4. Amphibian Beast's attack points dropped to 600 before Alligator Sword wiped Amphibian Beast from the field. Mako was left with 3100 life points. He smirked with delight.

"Not bad, I'm getting pumped!" Mako smirked. "This is fun!"

"This duel is just getting started!" Joey replied.


	16. Conquer the Sea

**Hey, sorry for taking so long to do this chapter. I've been working on Dimensional Wacky Adventures, which I suggest strongly for you guys to read. It's a whacked up hilarious story my brother and I are doing together. Review please!**

Joey looked out into the field and began thinking of what to do to defeat Mako. He couldn't get his warriors out to attack when the field was covered with water. There had to be a way to fight Mako and Joey knew exactly what he had in mind.

"I summon Baby Dragon, then use Polymerization to fuse him with Alligator Sword to fuse summon Alligator Sword Dragon!" Joey declared as Baby Dragon was summoned, then fused with Alligator Sword. The alligator monster was riding on top of Baby Dragon like a horse and flew it into the air.

"You mean... it can _fly_?" Mako gasped in shock.

"No, those wings were just placed there for entertainment," Joey replied sarcastically. "Alligator Word Dragon, attack Mako!" Alligator Sword Dragon flew right to Mako and the alligator slashed its sword across him, leaving him with 1400 life points left. "ALRIGHT!"

"GO JOEY!" Hanaski cheered from the audience area.

"Eh, your ocean ain't so bad. In fact, it's a piece of cake," Joey smirked with cockiness.

_"Piece of cake?"_ Mako repeated Joey's phrase with furrowed eyebrows. "Don't underestimate the sea, Joey! I place two cards face-down and end my turn!"

Joey furrowed his eyebrows and kept his eyes on the sea. Something told him that something _fishy_ was going on. Mako hid two monsters inside his underwater field spell, though his monster could fly. Still, Joey felt uneasy about this.

"Alligator Sword Dragon, attack Mako!" Joey declared.

"TRAP!" Mako shouted as he revealed his trap card that was face-down. "Tornado Wall!" A tornado of water spouted in front of Mako, preventing Joey's monster from attacking.

"Shit! I can't get to him!" Joey cursed at himself.

"Not only that, but it's permanent, so your monsters can't get to me!"

"Double shit!" Joey shouted to himself. He was starting to wonder if Mako even had any monsters at all.

"I play one monster and end my turn!" Mako smirked before another card next to his permanent trap was shown face-up, but unseen by Joey.

Joey knew that as long as Mako's field spell was still in play, there was no way to tell what monsters were hidden in the sea or if it was a bluff or not. The only way to find out was to attack. He decided to go full force.

"Alligator Sword Dragon, sick him!" Joey declared as Alligator Sword Dragon flew head on toward Mako, who showed a huge smirk.

"Do you ever learn?" Mako asked rhetorically as Tornado Wall spouted in the air, preventing Alligator Sword Dragon's attack.

"I KNEW IT! No monsters!" Joey smirked in reply.

"Think again!"

"Huh?"

Joey peered at his field and gasped in horror as he watched his Alligator Sword Dragon become struck by harpoons and wiped from the field. Joey was now left with 2850 life points. He couldn't figure out where that attack came from. It was like it came out of nowhere.

Mako smirked devilishly, knowing where the attack came from. He watched Joey glare at him intensely with sweat pouring on his face from the heat of the sun and the game.

"I summon Little Winguard in defense mode!" Joey declared as Little Winguard appeared on the field in a defense position. He watched the ocean with intensity in his eyes. No movement was made in the water and at an instant, Little Winguard was destroyed by shots from several harpoons. _Where were these attacks coming from?_ "My Winguard!"

"Still think this is _'a piece of cake'_?" Mako asked rhetorically.

Joey felt fear in himself, not knowing what was attacking him. Mako saw this as an advantage, knowing that he paralyzed Joey in fear of the unknown. Joey had no idea what was attacking his monsters and Mako could feel power burning up inside him.

"I'll play another card and end my turn!" Mako smirked before Joey drew his next card.

"Okay then! I play a face-down, then Rocket Warrior in defense mode!" Joey declared as Rocket Warrior appeared brave and bold with its little sword and shield.

"Now, time for me to use two of my monsters to summon my mighty beast!" Mako smirked as his two monsters under the sea were used as sacrifice to ritual summon Fortress Whale. Joey gasped in horror, seeing the size of that huge whale with a giant horn in the middle of its forehead. "YOU WILL SUFFER DEFEAT UNDER MY FORTRESS WHALE!"

"Holy f***!"

"That's right, Joey! Fear my all powerful whale of terror! MY WHALE SHALL DROWN YOU UNDER THE SEA!"

"Great, now I got that stupid gay song from the Little Mermaid stuck in my head."

"Then feel the terror of the sea, because it isn't as nice and fun as how Sebastian sings it!" Mako glared before looking down sorrowfully. "That's how my Dad went missing."

_"Huh?"_

"A long time ago, my dad and I were going fishing. One day the tidal wave came and washed us both. I was found on the beach, but my father was long gone. I searched everywhere, but could never find him."

"Dude, I'm so sorry. At least your dad ain't a drunken ass like mine," Joey smirked as Mako lifted his head with a small smile. "You know, if your father saw you right now, I think he'd be proud."

"You think?"

"Sure," Joey shrugged. "You're a pretty cool guy."

"Thanks," Mako replied before continuing the duel. "Fortress Whale attack!"

Joey gasped as he watched his Rocket Warrior being attacked by a bunch of harpoons. _Where were these harpoon attacks coming from?_ Joey flinched from the upcoming attack from Fortress Whale, seeming like a 3D imagery, and left him with 300 life points left. He was on his last two legs and knew if he didn't find his invisible attacker, he was doomed.

Joey could hear the crown cheering, rather for Mako winning the duel or the killer whale jumping over the water. Wait, THERE WERE _TWO_ KILLER WHALES! He showed furrowed eyebrows, knowing exactly where his pursuer was coming from. He drew his next card, which was a trap.

"I place two face-downs, and then I summon Panther Warrior in attack mode!" Joey said as Panther Warrior appeared boldly with a huge sword in its hands.

"HA! It's a beast-warrior, it can't attack or fly!" Mako mocked. "You seriously must be desperate! I summon Sea Snake in defense mode!" Sea Snake appeared in a defense position. His Fortress Whale was ready to attack at any moment.

Joey kept his eyes facing his right where he last saw the second killer whale jump. He knew _exactly_ what to do. As soon as the second killer whale jumped out of the sea, he made his cue.

"I reveal my trap, Magic Arm Shield! Hide and Seek is over, Mako!" Joey glared as a little box appeared and opened, showing some sort of stretcher with cymbals attached to it. The cymbals caught the fisherman riding on the killer whale.

"NO! MY LEGENDARY FISHERMAN!" Mako cried with a paled face.

"Looks like I found your buddy and he'll take the blow instead of my Panther Warrior!" Joey smirked as Magic Arm Shield placed Legendary Fisherman in front of Panther Warrior and became Fortress Whale's new target. Fortress Whale destroyed Legendary Fisherman, leaving Mako with 900 life points left.

"_M... My fisherman_," Mako muttered before showing a glare. "W... Well, what about your Panther Warrior, he'll be destroyed too!"

"Yes, but luckily, I had another trap saved," Joey replied, showing his trap Kunai With Chain.

Panther Warrior had an anchor in a chain and spun it around like a rope before lassoing it onto the horn of the Fortress Whale. Panther Warrior then swung itself on top of the whale, riding it like it was in a bull riding contest. Everyone in the audience was cheering and wondering if Panther Warrior or Fortress Whale would win this battle.

"Your Panther Warrior is still not as strong as my Fortress Whale!" Mako smirked as Joey showed an even slier smirk.

"I ain't done yet, Mako," Joey replied. "PANTHER WARRIOR, ATTACK!"

Panther Warrior stabbed its sword through the top of the whale, the blade sinking into the beast. Though, despite the monster's efforts, the whale was still alive. The whale began to spin around, trying to fly Panther Warrior off its back. Luckily, Panther Warrior was still alive and intact.

"Looks like Panther Warrior's attack didn't do you any good!" Mako mocked. "Not only are its attack higher than your Panther Warrior, but my Fortress Whale will destroy him! Nothing can stop my mighty beast!"

"There's one problem," Joey smirked, then pointing to the sword Panther Warrior stuck on the back of Fortress Whale, tied by Kunai With Chain, which was lassoed around the horn of the whale. "The Kunai With Chain is still connected to the whale, which is connected to the sword and I've got one face-down!" Joey's face-down card activated as Lightning Blade. "Look at the sword as a lightning rod."

"NO!"

Fortress Whale was electrocuted to death and because it was a water monster, the damage doubled. The mighty beast died, along with Mako's other monsters. Mako was now left with 150 life points remaining. He began showing sweat and desperation on his face.

"It's still my turn!" Mako said before revealing his spell card. "Return of the Doomed. I send one monster from my graveyard and that ends my turn!"

Joey furrowed his eyebrows. He figured Mako probably summoned back his Fortress Whale and that if he attacked now, he'd get hurt. He drew his next card, being his turn.

"Panther Warrior attacks!" Joey shouted triumphantly.

"But he's a beast-warrior, he can't attack in water!" Mako argued.

"That's why I play Giant Trunade!" Joey declared as all of Mako's cards were blown off and entered into the graveyard, including the field spell Umi. All that was left was Legendary Fisherman, much to the blond's surprise. "Legendary Fisherman? But Fortress Whale has higher attack points than that one, why didn't you summon it back?"

"This was the only card I didn't want to see dead," Mako replied with a sorrow heart as Panther Warrior destroyed Legendary Fisherman and took away the rest of his life points. "You win."

"I don't understand."

"I... I know this sounds... crazy, but Legendary Fisherman has been with me for years and... it sometimes feels as though I can... _speak_ to him."

Joey gasped, replying, "Legendary Fisherman is your soul card!"

_"Huh?"_

"Duelists usually choose what cards will lead to their victory, but there are a few monsters who choose a curtain duelist. The spirits of those monsters lie inside the cards and call to the masters they choose. Even Atem has a soul card. Kaiba too... _and me_."

"You... have a duel monster you talk to?"

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon, his name is Damon and he's... like my _brother_."

"My soul card... he's my father's spirit."

Joey's eyes almost bulged out of his eye sockets. _Could this be true? Could this Legendary Fisherman actually be the spirit of Mako's father?_ A bright smile filled Mako's face, which informed Joey that it was the fisher duelist's father.

"I found him after Duelist Kingdom. I told him about you guys and how I've been searching for him all these years. All Dad wants is for me to be happy. I entered Battle City in hope of exploring the world out there and maybe even buy a boat."

"Seriously?"

"Yep!"

"Sweet! You know what, you can keep your rare card and I'll just take the puzzle card. I don't wanna take something really valuable to you."

_"NO!"_ Mako refused, then handed over his Legendary Fisherman card to Joey. "You won fair and square and I know Dad will help you win your battles. I trust you with him. Just return him when you get back from Battle City, then I can duel ya for him!"

Joey showed a smirk, then him and Mako gave a guy hug before the blond duelist walked over to his friends Hanaski and Tea. They were filled with joy that Joey won the duel.

"That was a great duel, Joey!" Tea said.

"Yeah, I was getting really, really pumped!" Hanaski beamed. "I wish Yugi were here to see this."

"I'm sure wherever he is, he's doing just fine," Joey grinned as him and his friends left the aquarium.

After everyone exited the aquarium, they noticed someone up ahead. Ryan stood on the ground with a paled face and pouring sweat with his left arm cut and bleeding. The trio gasped in horror while running up to their wounded friend. A long blond-haired boy stood over him, trying to stop the bleeding.

"RYAN!" Hanaski cried in worry.

_"What the hell happened?"_ Ryan muttered, then seeing a familiar face behind Hanaski. _"Namu?"_

"Hang on! I just called the hospital!" Marik replied, pretending to be Namu. He and Yami Ryou plotted to get rid of Tea by wounding Ryan. When Joey and Hanaski are alone, that is when Marik could gain control of the two.

"What's your name?" Tea asked.

"Namu! Ryan and I met during the ceremony! I found him on the sidewalk like this!" Marik lied.

"Hang on, Ryan! We'll get you back to your asshole self in no time!" Joey promised.

The ambulance came to pick up Ryan and drive him to the hospital. The friends watched with worry written on their faces. They were confused on how their friend got hurt and wondered who would do such a thing. Ryan kept moaning and groaning. The pain was too much for him at the moment.

Joey, Hanaski, and Tea came by Ryan's side, trying to keep him calm.

"It's okay, Pal," Joey whispered.

_"He... He's back,"_ Ryan whispered before cringing in pain. The trio seemed confused about what their friend meant. _"Tell Yugi... Ryou's... he's got Ryou!"_

That was when the three of them turned pale. _Was Ryan's dark alter ego the one who caused the wound?_

Marik originally kept Ryan from revealing anything about Yami Ryou, but figured it didn't matter at this point since his job was half way done and didn't need him to keep Yami Ryou's control a secret. Everything was going according to plan and while he sent two of his rare hunters to distract Yugi and Seto, Marik decided to use the advantage to take control of the two boys.

The drivers wheeled Ryan's body up to the ambulance truck and only allowed one person to be in there with the patient. Hanaski wanted to volunteer, but _something_ was keeping him from doing so. Little did he know, it was Marik and his millennium rod.

"I'll stay with Ryan! Hanaski, tell Yugi to text me!" Tea told Hanaski as he nodded in reply.

As soon as the ambulance truck drove off, Joey and Hanaski's eyes turned hollow and Marik began to make an evil chuckle. His plans were working as followed. Now, he had Joey and Hanaski as his two hostages.

"This is perfect! Looks like you're a little too late, Pharaoh," Marik smirked evilly.


	17. Arena of Death!

**Here is the next chapter. I'm getting close to the pier duel. Like I am so close, it's not even funny. First, I have to do the tag-team duel with Seto, Yugi, and those two masked losers. I hope you like it! Review please!**

Seto had taken down two of the other Rare Hunters who were in the way to get to Yugi's friends. His fist still held a stain of blood from beating them up. Yugi was glad nobody else saw this, he didn't want Seto to get in trouble for physical violence, even as the coe-host of the tournament. It was a good thing these guys had a reputation for cheating and counterfeiting cards.

"Well, looks like _that_ took care of them," Seto smirked before him and Yugi continued on their way down the sidewalk.

"That was pretty cool how you handled those guys. I'm glad nobody caught ya," Yugi said.

"Dump the sweet talk and let's just find your friends already!"

"I hope they're okay, especially Hanaski. He's my bestest friend."

"I know, I see you two running in the school hallways like a couple of cheetahs! I swear, I don't know how Atem's able to live with a pathetic annoyance on his ass!"

Yugi chuckled, then replied, "co'mon, you know you like me!"

"Okay, I admit, you're an entertainment," Seto smirked before hearing his cell phone ring. He picked it up. "Hello?"

_"Seto, I found Joey's location! He's at the aquarium!"_ Mokuba said.

"Thanks Mokuba," Seto thanked his brother before hanging up. "Looks like we found your little amateur friend."

"JOEY'S OKAY?" Yugi beamed joyfully. He hugged Seto tightly. "Thank you so much, you're the best!"

"Great, now get your ass off me!"

Yugi separated from Seto, then said,_ "sorry."_

"Don't touch me!"

Suddenly, a Rare Hunter pounced on top of Seto and clamped some kind of shackle on his duel disk. Yugi gasped, seeing the fat Rare Hunter with half a mask on his face and a smiley grin.

"SETO!" Yugi cried.

Seto kicked the Rare Hunter off himself before noticing the shackle on his duel disk and cried, "what the freakin hell?"

"Now that the Duelist's Chastity Belt is on, your cards are locked in place!" The Masked Rare Hunter smirked. Seto glared deeply in annoyance. "Why so glum?"

"You son of a bitch!"

"The key is up here!" The Masked Rare Hunter said, pointing to another Rare Hunter dangling the key, who also had a mask, but it had a sad face on it.

"Why do I feel like they bought those off of a cheap Marti Gras sale?" Seto asked sarcastically.

"Meet us at the top, Kaiba! Oh, and you better come too Yugi or your little friends will be dead!" The Masked Hunter with the smiley face replied before running off to the top of the skyscraper.

_"No!"_ Yugi cried out, then facing Seto. "We have to do something!"

"Then let's kick ass!" Seto replied.

Seto and Yugi raced to the top of the skyscraper where their opponents were waiting for them. The Rare Hunters with the masks stood on top of a glass window. Yugi had a bad feeling something bad was going to happen in this duel to make it very dangerous. The two Rare Hunters smirked wickedly with slyness in their eyes.

"I suppose we should introduce ourselves, I am the Light Mask," The fat Rare Hunter with the masked smiley face introduced.

"And I am the Dark Mask," the other Rare Hunter with a sad face mask said.

"So why are you dressed like it's Marti Gras?" Seto asked.

"QUIET! THIS IS NOT AMERICA!" Dark Mask yelled.

"Anyways, here's your key!" Light Mask smirked before Dark Mask tossed the key on the window ahead of the one he was standing on. Seto walked up to get the key to unlock the shackle on his duel disk. "Now, to explain the rules! This is a tag-team duel! The duelist who loses his life points is removed from the game and when I say _removed_ I mean DIE! Where we are standing on is the 13th floor, which is the roof of this building. The glass under our feet is a skylight, which leads all the way down to the ground floor."

"And each one of these four windows has its own explosive device attached to it! This explosive will go off when your life points reach 0!" Dark Masked explained as Yugi, standing on the glass window next to Seto's, looked behind him and saw the explosive attached to the glass window he was standing on. It was a small bomb, so it only exploded as far as three feet.

"We call it the Tag Team Match of Death!"

"What's with your duels and naming them? Why not just call it a duel?" Seto smirked.

"Or a Tag-Team Match, that'd be easier," Yugi shrugged in agreement.

"Are you gonna duel us or what?" Dark Mask asked his opponents in pure annoyance.

"If it's a duel you want, it's a duel you'll get!" Seto glared before turning his duel disk on. Yugi also turned on his duel disk and the four were ready to duel. Each player gathered five cards in their hands.

"I will go first," Light Mask said before drawing his first card. "I fold two cards and end my turn!"

"Then I go!" Yugi smirked before drawing his next card. He peered at his hand, then showed a poker face. "I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior in defense mode and end my turn!"

"Then I will go," Dark Mask glared. "I play Shining Abyss in defense mode!"

"The time my partner summons a monster, I play my face-down card Mask of Brutality!" Light Mask smirked.

"This powers up my monster!"

Mask of Brutality was placed on Shining Abyss and it gained 2300 attack points. Seto showed a simple glare while Yugi eyed closely on his opponent's duel strategy.

"It seems their strategy is based on teamwork," Yugi told Seto.

"No matter. I'll crush those Rare Hunters with my own bare hands, if I have to!" Seto replied before drawing his next card. "I place one card face-down, then I summon out Vorse Raider in attack mode!" Vorse Raider appeared boldly in an attack position. "I end!"

"My turn!" Light Mask declared while drawing out his next card. A smirk widened across his face. "I'll play Mask of Accursed and place it on Magnet Warrior!" Yugi gasped as Mask of Accursed attached itself onto his Beta the Magnet Warrior. "This makes it to where you take 500 damage for your every turn! Now, I fold one card and end my turn!"

Yugi took 500 damage, since it was his turn and was left with 3500 life points. He bit his bottom lip while eying at the bomb hooked to the window. Sweat was pouring down his face while sensing his brother by his side.

_"It's okay, Yugi! You can do this!"_ Atem cried out as Yugi nodded.

Yugi drew his next card, then said, "I sacrifice Beta the Magnet Warrior..."

"You wish! I reveal my permanent trap Mask of Restrict!" Light Mask smirked as a huge ugly mask appeared on the field. "As long as this trap is up, you cannot make any sacrifices!"

"WHAT!" Seto glared in annoyance.

_"SHIT!"_ Atem glared.

"Now, your god cards are useless!" Dark Mask glared as Yugi glanced out onto the field nervously.

"Uh... I play Kuriboh in defense mode and one face-down!" Yugi declared, feeling huge nervousness.

"I believe it's my turn," Dark Mask said before drawing his next card. "Shining Abyss attacks Vorse Raider!" Shining Abyss stretched out to punch out Vorse Raider.

"TRAP! RING OF DESTRUCTION!" Seto declared as a giant ring wrapped around Shining Abyss.

"Then I reveal another trap, Curse Transfer!" Light Mask smirked as Seto gasped, watching the Ring of Destruction now placed around Vorse Raider's neck before it blew up, leaving Seto with 2100 life points.

"SETO!" Yugi cried out, eying the bomb under the window Seto was standing on.

"DIE KAIBA!" Dark Mask cried out as Shining Abyss sent out a huge energy blast at Seto to wipe out the rest of his life points, but not before finding a wall of Kuribohs in front of him. The blast hit the Kuribohs instead of Seto's life points.

_"WHAT!"_ The two masks gasped awestruck.

"Yugi!" Seto responded, seeing the Multiply spell card in front of Yugi.

"Close, but no cigar!" Yugi smirked slyly.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Light Mask glared in humiliation as Yugi chuckled aloud

"You okay, Seto?" Yugi asked.

"I don't need _your_ help!" Seto spat.

"So you _did_ have a plan to avoid getting stripped down in life points?" Yugi asked rhetorically as Seto glared in annoyance. "Listen, this is a tag-team duel! If one of us loses, it's over!"

"So you're telling me that I have to work with you to win?"

"Unless you want to end up falling 13 feet or better yet, finding Brother and I dead! If I go, so does Brother!"

"I KNOW _THAT_!"

"Are you two done fighting yet?" Dark Mask asked grimly as Seto drew his next card.

"I place one card face-down, then I place Gadget Soldier in defense mode!" Seto declared as Gadget Soldier appeared in a defense position. "That ends my turn!"

"Then I will go!" Light Mask smirked before drawing his next card. "Time to take care of those pesky annoying fur balls by using Mask of Dispell!" Mask of Dispell appeared and all of the Kuribohs were gone. Yugi gasped in panic, seeing only one Kuriboh left on the field. "Plus, you lose 300 points per turn from Curse of the Mask!"

"No!" Yugi cried.

"But it's not over yet!" Light Mask smirked before summoning Grand Tiki Elder. "Time for my Tiki Elder to attack your Kuriboh!" Grand Tiki Elder attacked and destroyed Kuriboh before Light Mask laughed deviously. "You also lose 800 points. I hope you hadn't forgotten."

Yugi's life points stooped down to 2700. Yugi felt extremely nervous and not just because him and Seto were playing a death game, but that his friends were probably in grave danger. He knew he had to get to them before it was too late, if it wasn't too late already!

Yugi drew his next card and peered at his hand. He glanced at his cards to think out his next move. He also looked into Seto's cards. One of his face-down cards was Monster Reborn. If Blue-Eyes White Dragon was sent to the graveyard, she could be brought back with Monster Reborn. _It seemed ingenious!_

"I place one card face-down!" Yugi declared with his perky smile. "And that's all folks!"

"What is this, loony tunes?" Seto glared as Yugi shrugged in reply.

"Can't blame me for liking that show!"

"My turn!" Dark Mask said before drawing his card. "I use my ritual spell card Curse of the Masked Beast by offering a monster of darkness and of light!" Two of his monsters disappeared from the field and a huge monster with a body of a man, legs of a dragon, and no face appeared in their place. It held a staff in its hands. "THE MASKED BEAST! DESTROY YUGI!"

Yugi gasped in fear as he felt his brother grasping onto him tightly. Though, before the attack could get to him, Gadget Soldier blocked the attack made for Yugi. He sighed in relief and showed a beaming smile at Seto.

"Thanks a bunch!" Yugi said.

"Now, we're even," Seto replied with his usual grim face.

_"I think he's starting to like you,"_ Atem smirked as Yugi nodded at his brother. _"Do your stuff!"_

_'With pleasure!'_ Yugi replied to his brother before revealing his face-down card. "I reveal Card Destruction! This sends our cards to the graveyard and refresh a new hand!"

_"SHIIIIIIT!"_ The two Masked Rare Hunters replied.

"And I reveal Monster Reborn to summon out my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Seto declared as Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared boldly with a loud roar.

_"I'm with you to the end, Master,"_ Kisara told Seto as he smirked, then nodded.

"SHIT! Oh shit!" Light Mask responded.

"But you two are _rivals_!" Dark Mask glared.

_"Oh, so just because we're rivals means we don't know how to cooperate, even though we're coe-hosts for this tournament,"_ Seto replied sarcastically as the two masked Rare Hunters gave glances. "You two seriously need a major reality check!"

"It doesn't matter, because my monster still has 3200 attack, while your dragon still has 3000!" Light Mask smirked cockily as Yugi showed a sly smirk.

"Seto, attack his monster," Yugi said as Seto looked at him like he was psycho. Yugi winked, signalling for Seto to trust him.

_"Trust him, Master!"_ Kisara told Seto as he nodded in reply.

"Blue-Eyes attacks Masked Beast!" Seto smirked.

"ARE YOU NUTS?" Light Mask asked awestruck.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon shot a burst of white lightning at the Masked Beast. It died, leaving Dark Mask with 3700 life points remaining. He gasped, baffled at what just took place.

"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! MY MONSTER HAD HIGHER ATTACK POINTS THAN BLUE-EYES!" Dark Mask shouted.

"That's because I used the special ability of Archfiend of Gilfer! I sent it to the graveyard using Card Destruction. It takes away 500 life points from whatever monster I equip it to!" Yugi explained, showing Archfiend of Gilfer in his hand from the graveyard.

"You really were _that_ far ahead?" Seto asked baffled.

"Yep," Yugi replied. "I mean they don't call me Yu-Gi-Oh for nothing! And besides that, since this is a Tag-Team Duel, our Unity from my puzzle makes us stronger!"

"Unity?"

"That's the power of my puzzle, Unity!"

At that point, Seto felt a nudge on his left hand. It still held Atem's name written in black permanent marker. He had almost forgotten about that mark. Seto hadn't completed the puzzle of his heart yet. There was still one more piece inside Atem that Seto planned on retrieving after Battle City. Seto focused back on the game.

"I end my turn," Seto declared.

"Then I go!" Light Mask replied before drawing a card. He seemed extremely annoyed at this point. "I play Melchid the Four-Face Beast in defense mode, then fold one card! I end my turn and Yugi loses another 800 points!"

Yugi's life points stooped down to 1900 before drawing his next card. He smirked, "I fold one card, then summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior! He attacks Melchid!" Alpha the Magnet Warrior took its long sword and sliced through Melchid the Four-Face Beast. "I end my turn!"

"Listen, if we don't beat that dragon, we'll be done for!" Dark Mask told his partner.

"Don't worry, I've got everything under control. Just use your monster to attack him and I'll take care of the rest!" Light Mask replied with a sly smirk.

Dark Mask drew his next card, trusting his partner, then declaring, "I summon Nuvia the Wicked in attack mode!"

"I didn't think anyone over four years old would put that card in their deck," Seto mocked.

"But, then again, I did put Kuriboh in my deck," Yugi shrugged.

"Yes, but you _act_ four! Not to mention Atem spoils you!"

"Nuvia attacks your Blue-Eyes!" Dark Mask declared as Nuvia the Wicked created a big ball of energy. Seto was baffled and wondering why this guy was attacking a monster with higher attack points. The answer came to him in a second later.

"I reveal my spell card Mask of Weakness!" Light Mask revealed as a mask attached to Blue-Eyes White Dragon, halving its attack points to 1500. It roared in pain.

"KISARA!" Seto cried.

"Don't worry, I got this!" Yugi smirked before revealing his face-down card. "I reveal Mystical Rift Panel! This changes the target of your spell card!"

"WHAT! NO!" Light Mask cried as the mask that was on Blue-Eyes White Dragon moved to stick on Nuvia the Wicked. Blue-Eyes White Dragon began its attack and destroyed Nuvia the Wicked, leaving Dark Mask with 1700 life points. "Are you okay?"

"OKAY? I JUST GOT FRIED AND YOU'RE ASKING ME IF I'M OKAY? I ALMOST GOT KILLED NO THANKS TO YOU!" Dark Mask yelled.

"I WAS ONLY TRYING TO HELP! THIS IS THE THANKS I GET?"

"Gee, so much for teamwork," Yugi chuckled as Seto showed a small smirk.

Seto began wondering about this _"Power of Unity."_ Yugi had mentioned earlier that the power of his puzzle came from Unity, meaning uniting everyone into one. This is one power Seto couldn't understand. There was no doubt this power was strong, due to the fact Seto couldn't separate Atem from his puzzle when the Dark Clown Game Shop was burning down. Still, was there any limit to this _power_? One thing was for sure, these two didn't have a strong unity and it seemed like himself and Yugi did, ironically.

"_GRRRR!_ I PLACE ONE CARD FACE-DOWN AND END MY TURN!" Dark Mask glared.

"Blue-Eyes, attack that pathetic duelist directly!" Seto declared as Yugi gasped slightly, wondering why he was making such a rational move with a face-down card on his opponent's field.

"I activate my face-down card Mask of Impregnability!" Dark Mask smirked wickedly. "This shields any attack from getting to me!" Blue-Eyes White Dragon's attack attacked a mask, then disappeared. Seto smiled deviously.

"You know, shrimp, you were lucky I didn't attack you!" Seto smirked as Light Mask glared at his insult. "My dragon could've attacked any of you, but the big question is if your moronic partner would be willing to protect you! I clearly doubt it!"

"OF COURSE I WOULD HAVE!" Dark Mask glared as Seto rolled his eyes.

"That's one hell of a lie! This is why unity doesn't work! It only makes your partner betray you in the end!" Seto smirked, knowing that his cunning lie would separate the two.

"It's my turn!" Light Mask glared before drawing his next card. A smirk appeared on his face. "I play Chosen One by playing three cards, then the top randomly choose one without looking at them! If it's a monster card, I can summon it and send my two other cards to the graveyard! If it isn't, I send them all to the graveyard!" Three holographic cards appeared on the field, circling together, with a spinning top in the middle showing a pointer. It began spinning around and around, then slowly came to a stop. "The card it chose is..." the chosen card revealed itself as a three-headed monster with masks. "MASKED BEAST OF GUARDIUS!"

"Good job! I knew you could do it!" Dark Mask cheered joyfully.

"Just let _me_ handle this!"

_"There's still a chance,"_ Atem told Yugi as he nodded in reply.

"You know, I can just kill you right now, Yugi!" Light Mask smirked.

"No! Kaiba's Dragon could strike at any moment!" Dark Mask argued.

"Don't question me!"

"What's the matter? Shorty trying to be the big man?" Seto mocked cunningly.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" Light Mask glared ferociously.

"_Shorty._ You can kill Yugi if you want to, I'm just gonna make Blue-Eyes even stronger and crush you," Seto mocked.

"Why you..." Light Mask glared with an angry grin. "Then I'll destroy Blue-Eyes!" Masked Beast of Guardius attacked and destroyed Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Seto felt slightly grieved over his sacrifice, but Kisara has always been with him. If anything happened to Atem, he'd lose the only friend he had with him, the only piece to his heart. Blue-Eyes White Dragon's sacrifice was worth it. Seto could never forget Duelist Kingdom. He was willing to give his own life for Atem's and if Yugi was gone, so was Atem.

Yugi knew Seto gave up his Blue-Eyes White Dragon for his life's sake. Yugi also knew that it was time to repay Seto. He drew his next card.

"I summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior! Thanks to Seto's sacrifice, I'm able to summon a more powerful monster!" Yugi smirked.

"WHAT? BUT YOU CAN'T MAKE SACRIFICES!" Light Mask gasped.

"Who said I was making sacrifices? When I combine three of my magnet warriors, they become one monster!" Yugi explained as the masked men gasped at the sight of the magnet warriors merging into one monster. "I SUMMON VALKYRION THE MAGNET WARRIOR!" Valkyrion the Magnet warrior appeared strong and mighty with its sword.

_"Hm,"_ Seto smirked. "Fits you."

"Thanks," Yugi thanked Seto, smiling brightly.

"Now, crush them!"

"With pleasure!" Yugi cried happily. "I place one card face-down! Then my Valkyrion attacks Masked Beast of Guardius!" Valkyrion the Magnet Warrior stabbed right through Masked Beast of Guardius and destroyed it. Yugi showed a victory smirk. "I DID IT!"

"But you activated Guardius's special ability!" Light Mask smirked deviously.

"WHAT?" Seto gasped in horror. Yugi kept his smirk, knowing what was coming.

"I can bring out Mask of Possession and attach it to whatever monster I want to control and the monster I choose is your Valkyrion!" Light Mask smirked as the Mask of Possession attached itself to Valkyrion the Magnet Warrior and appeared on Light Mask's field. "IT'S OVER PHARAOH!"

"And it's my turn!" Dark Mask glared. "Valkyrion, destroy Yugi!"

"YUGI!" Seto cried in terror.

"I reveal my spell card De-Fusion!" Yugi revealed as his face-down card revealed as De-Fusion and changed Valkyrion the Magnet Warrior back into the three magnet warriors.

"NO!" The two masked men screamed out.

"YES!" Yugi grinned in delight.

"And I use Soul Exchange! I believe your Mask of Restrict did not say anything about using your _opponent's monsters_ as sacrifice," Seto smirked as the two masked men froze in pure horror. "I sacrifice three of your magnet warriors to summon out Obelisk the Tormentor!" Three of the magnet warriors disappeared from the field and Obelisk the Tormentor appeared in their place with might and power. Yugi looked up with pure amazement.

_"Obelisk!"_ Yugi cried out with a widened smile on his face.

"DESTROY THIS LOSER!" Seto cried out, pointing to Dark Mask as Obelisk punched its mighty fist at him and his life points dropped to 0.

_"NOOOOOOOOOO!"_ Dark Mask cried in terror while tears were leaking out of his eyes.

The bomb was set off and the window under Dark Mask's feet exploded the whole area where he was at. Dark Mask began falling, knocked unconscious from the explosion, as he fell to his sudden death.

_"NO!"_ Light Mask cried in agony as Seto glared at the very opponent he killed. He stared angrily at the last Rare Hunter left. "Please! Don't kill me! Please, I beg you!"

"Let's leave him, Seto. There's no point in harming the life of anyone else. We've already shed enough blood as it is," Yugi said meekly as Seto nodded in reply.

Then, Light Mask began showing a glowing third eye on his forehead, then stood up in front of the two duelists. Yugi gasped, knowing exactly who it was, Marik. Seto glared furiously with pure hatred.

"Marik, is that you?" Seto asked.

_"Who else?"_ Marik asked from Light Mask's body.

"You son of a bitch! You almost had Yugi and I killed!"

"That was just to distract you both. I already have Joey and Hanaski."

"Please Marik! Don't hurt them!" Yugi pleaded. _He wished Marik could believe him._

"Already too late. If you don't hurry at Domino Pier, your little friends will be swimming with the fishes!" Marik threatened with a devious smirk. With that, Light Mask, controlled by Marik, walked and fell down the window that Dark Mask fell out of.

"Please, we have to save my friends!" Yugi cried aloud.

"See, this is why I never made any friends in the first place! They always get in the way!" Seto glared at Yugi. "Teamwork is only good in games, but in real life, man lives alone! I'd like to see what happens when your friends turn against you!"

"I'm not sure..." Yugi muttered, feeling scared inside, but determined. "But I'm gonna bring them back!"

"Then _this_ I will have to see," Seto smirked before flipping his cell phone to dial his brother Mokuba.


	18. The Unwanted Duel

**Here is the next chapter! That's right, it's the duel all of you have been waiting for, the pier duel! This will be done differently. Like I'm gonna start with this to start the duel, then the next chapter will go off with the duel and bla bla bla. Review please!**

Mokuba got out the helicopter to fly Seto and Yugi to the pier. Yugi continually stared out the window with great worry. There was no telling what Marik was going to do with Joey and Hanaski. Yugi was wishing the whole time that this nightmare would just go away! He felt his brother's pain as well.

Seto could see Yugi having his dilemma. He was now facing the fact that he would have to fight his friends in order to save them. Seto was curious to know what Yugi was planning to do in this current situation. Mokuba was also curious, hearing from Seto about Yugi's dilemma. What will Yugi do if his friends turn against him? How will his_ power of Unity_ work? Seto was about to find out from this duel.

Yugi heard his cell phone ring and answered it. He said, "hello?"

_"Atem, is everything okay?"_ Serenity asked.

_"Shit! It's Serenity!"_ Atem gasped next to Yugi.

"I'm fine!" Yugi lied, not wanting Serenity to worry.

_"Are you sure? You're starting to scare me! You sound scared and that's unlike you! I want to know what's going on!"_ Serenity cried in worry.

"I kind of had a fight with someone," Yugi replied, telling half the truth. "I'm trying to talk to him right now."

_"Are you sure everything's okay?"_

"I'm sure. Anyways, I need to go. I'm sorry I can't talk right now! Love you!" Yugi said before hanging up. "This is so stressful."

"You mean the fact you're dating two girls or the fact you're about to fight with your two closest friends?" Seto asked with a sly smirk.

"Both."

"This should be interesting how you're planning on using your _power of Unity_."

"I don't care what power I use as long as I can get Joey and Hanaski back," Yugi said while looking down.

"We're landing, guys!" Mokuba announced as the helicopter came to a landing at the Domino Pier where Yugi remembered heading to Duelist Kingdom with his friends.

Yugi jumped off the helicopter and found Joey and Hanaski by the docks who stared with hollowed eyes. Yugi didn't care! He ran across the pier and hugged Hanaski tightly in his arms. Hanaski just stood blankly as his eyes turned back to his normal eyes for one second.

_"Y-Yugi,"_ Hanaski whispered before they changed hallow again. Marik had now found Hanaski harder to control than he thought.

"Hanaski, are you okay? Please speak to me!" Yugi cried, hoping to get to his best friend somehow.

_"I'm afraid Hanaski isn't here at this point, Yugi,"_ Hanaski smirked, possessed by Marik.

"Please, you gotta come back to me! It's me, Yugi, you're bestest friend! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" Yugi cried aloud, then felt his puzzle vibrating. He could feel his friend trying to break free from Marik's control. "I can feel you fighting!"

_"I'm afraid your friend's gone, Pharaoh!"_ Joey smirked evilly, also possessed by Marik.

_"The only way to get your friends back is to duel to the death!"_ Hanaski explained.

"Marik, please, let Hanaski and Joey go! I didn't kill your father, I promise I didn't!" Yugi begged Marik.

_"Still denying your crimes? I suppose that should be no surprise,"_ Hanaski asked rhetorically before walking toward the docks._ "Follow me!"_

Yugi fearfully followed his friend, hoping to set him free by this duel. Hopefully, if Yugi dueled Hanaski, perhaps he could free his friend from Marik's control, and Joey too. The only way to find out was to duel him. There was no other way, just like Seto had claimed.

Hanaski and Joey walked on one side of the dock while Yugi walked on the other side. Yugi saw three cuffs, two on Joey's and Hanaski's side and one on his side. He had a bad feeling that Joey and Hanaski were both going to be more involved in this duel than he thought. Yugi could hear his heart beating louder and louder.

_"This is how this duel works. Have you heard of a_ Royal Duel_? It's where two players duel against one, only this type of Royal Duel will be done differently. You see, your vessel will be involved in this as well. If you play, Hanaski will be your opponent, if Atem plays, Joey will be his opponent and take Hanaski's place,"_ Marik explained through Hanaski. He placed the cuff on his wrist, including Joey. _"You also need to place the handcuff on your wrist or I will start the timer and both your friends will be thrown into the sea!"_

"Fine!" Yugi replied bravely, or trying to be brave, as he cuffed his wrist with the handcuff connected to the large anchor in the middle of the dock between Yugi and his two friends.

_"I hate this!"_ Atem said.

"LET ME GO!" Mokuba cried aloud as Yugi turned to see him being held against his will by a Rare Hunter, who placed a sharp knife by his neck. Seto glared at the Rare Hunter while looking like he was about to run toward Yugi.

Yugi gasped, knowing that Seto was about to stop the duel when Marik had his Rare Hunters take a hold of Mokuba to prevent it. Atem glared with rage. He knew they had to stop this madness before their friends got themselves killed. From what Yugi could tell, Marik was not one to be played with. He was willing to do whatever it took to avenge his dead father.

_"Now, to continue,"_ Hanaski smirked, still showing hallow eyes. _"In forty minutes, if neither of us win the duel, all three of us will be thrown to the sea. Of course, if one of your friends doesn't play, he'll still live even if his partner loses. Loser gets thrown into the sea. Now, let's duel, Pharaoh!"_

"Hanaski, hold on! Just keep fighting and I'll help set you free!" Yugi cried out to Hanaski, feeling his fighting spirit continually fight on.

* * *

><p>Serenity had just got off the phone with Atem, or whom she thought was <em>Atem<em>. She held great fear in her heart as Duke continually drove along the road. From what he heard, Atem had really got himself into deep waters. He knew that if they didn't get to Atem, he would get himself killed _or worse_.

"Atem won't tell me anything! I'm scared for him!" Serenity said, tapping her fingers.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Tristan replied, trying to cheer Serenity up, but even he knew himself that Atem was in trouble.

"I'm gonna call Kaiba, I doubt Atem will give us his location," Duke said while dialing Seto's phone number on his cell phone. He heard several rings before someone answered.

_"Who's this?"_ Seto asked after answering.

"Duke Devlin, Atem won't tell us where he is, I need to know what's going on!" Duke demanded.

_"Well, since you're so concerned, Yugi is dueling Hanaski, who's possessed by some ass named Marik. They have forty minutes before all three of them get sunk into the sea, and whoever loses will be in deep waters, literally. I'd stop them, but these assholes have my brother hostage,"_ Seto replied.

"Not good. We're on our way! We'll try to see if we can save Atem's butt... _like usual_."

_"_Why am I not surprised?_ You don't have time, in case you haven't noticed, and have forty minutes, so you better hurry and fast!"_

"Got it!" Duke replied before hanging up. "Looks like Atem's in trouble BIG TIME! If we don't hurry, he'll be in deeper waters than usual and I'm not kidding. Kaiba says we've got forty minutes."

"Why doesn't Kaiba help?" Tristan asked.

"His brother's held hostage."

"Sh..._oooot._"

"What's going on?" Serenity asked worriedly.

"From what I gathered, Atem's in a life and death duel or something. He's got forty minutes and if he loses, he'll drown into the sea and if he wins, Hanaski, and Joey too I'm guessing, will drown," Duke replied, not wanting to lie to Serenity.

"JOEY!"

"DAMIT!" Tristan shouted, then clamped his mouth and blushed. "_... sorry Serenity._ That dump butt moron! Why does he get into these stupid messes?"

"We have to hurry now!" Serenity cried aloud, scared out of her mind like she had never been before.

"On my way," Duke replied while driving down the road. His car then ran to a stop light and stopped.

"Duke, we don't have time to stop at a stop light, our friends are in trouble!" Tristan glared.

"_Ugh!_ You guys are gonna get me a freakin' ticket!" Duke complained before passing the red light. "I better not be in a wreck!"

Duke kept driving, and then happened to pass a road where Mai was driving by, almost running into them. Her wheels squeaked as she came to a stop and shouted from her window, "WATCH IT!"

"Mai?" Tristan replied as Mai's jaw dropped.

"Tristan? What are you guys doing..."

"Atem's in trouble, BIG TROUBLE!"

"Why didn't you say so? I'll follow you guys!"

"Who's the hot chick with the big breasts?" Duke asked.

"Mai Valentine! We met her in Duelist Kingdom," Tristan replied.

"Dang!"

"Mai?" Serenity asked.

"Yeah, she was one of Atem's opponents. She's a rebel, but a tough character. I think Joey has a crush on her," Tristan explained.

"Cool!" Serenity grinned excitedly.

Duke began driving again with Mai following him in her roofless car. She glanced at the girl in the front next to Duke. Mai began wondering if this girl was Atem's girlfriend, Serenity Wheeler. She seemed like it was her. She was innocent, had bandages around her eyes, and seemed very scared. From what the woman could tell, this girl was probably worried about Atem and wanting to be there for him. Whatever trouble Atem was in, Mai was more than willing to help him out in any given situation.


	19. A Prideful Card

**Here comes the duel! I'm gonna make two parts to this. I want to separate it to Yugi's duel and Atem's duel. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. Review please!**

Yugi and Possessed Hanaski drew their first five cards. Yugi stared at Hanaski fearfully. How was he going to bring his best friend back into the light? Hanaski seemed completely possessed, yet Yugi could feel a huge battle going on inside the mind room. He was determined bring his best friend back no matter what it took.

_"Hurry up, Yugi! It's your move!"_ Possessed Hanaski smirked sickly.

Yugi drew his first card, then peered at his deck. He glared and declared, "I summon out Baphomet in defense mode! I end my turn!"

_"Then, I go!"_ Possessed Hanaski replied before drawing his next card. _"By the way, since this kid didn't bring his deck, he'll be borrowing Joey's. I hope you don't mind."_ Yugi kept his head up and his eyes narrowed. _"I use Raigeki to destroy your monster!"_

"Wait, that's a banned card!" Yugi gasped before watching his Baphomet be destroyed by a lightning vortex.

_"Now, I summon Alligator Sword to attack you directly!"_ Possessed Hanaski smirked deviously as Alligator Sword took its sword and slashed it across Yugi. He gasped from the outcome of the 3D hologram and watched his life points deplete to 2500. _"What's the matter, Yugi? Not so tough after all?"_

"Hanaski! I know you're in there! Just keep fighting!" Yugi cried out to his friend before drawing his next card. "I summon Big Shield Guardna in defense mode!"

_"Then, I bring out Hinotama!"_ Possessed Hanaski glared before tons of fireballs struck Yugi and left him with 1900 life points.

"HANASKI!" Yugi cried out before Possessed Hanaski gasped slightly and his eyes changed to their normal brown, before becoming hollow again.

_"Keep fighting, Yugi! Hanaski's coming back!"_ Atem cheered.

"Hanaski, don't give up on me! We're best friends and always will be! You're the first friend I've ever made that excepted me for me!" Yugi cried out to his friend as Possessed Hanaski froze in place with a blank expression. "My turn!" He drew his next card and looked up at his friend who still held the same blank expression.

"YUGI!" Mokuba cried, still struggling in the Rare Hunter's arms.

"Don't worry! I got this!" Yugi promised as he planned his next move. "I place one card face-down, then I summon Kuriboh in attack mode! That ends my turn!"

_"Just like I thought! You're not so good in your skills when your friends are in danger!"_ Possessed Hanaski smirked sickly. _"Alligator Sword, attack Kuriboh!"_

Alligator Sword came on its way to slice Kuriboh in two before Yugi revealed, "I activate my trap, Spellbinding Circle!"

_"WHAT?"_

Alligator Sword was trapped inside the hexogram and it depleted its life points. Possessed Hanaski kept his sickly smirk while chuckling oh so darkly. Yugi felt extremely scared while hearing his best friend laugh and act like a complete maniac!

_"You think that's enough to beat me, Yugi?"_ Possessed Hanaski asked rhetorically with a dark chuckle. He played another Hinotama from his hand as a bunch of more fireballs fell right on Yugi, leaving him with 1300 life points. _"It doesn't matter what you do, Yugi, you'll never bring your precious friend back!"_

"You're wrong, Marik!" Yugi glared, then showed a bright smile. "Hanaski's my best friend and always has been. He's stronger than any guy I know! I know he will defeat your control!"

That was when Hanaski's eyes began to change to normal. Hanaski's arms began to shake, and then he fell on his knees and began to scream. Yugi gasped and smiled happily. Hanaski was fighting Marik's control with all his strength.

_"What's going on?"_ Possessed Joey gasped in shock.

"SHUT UP! LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON'T WANT YUGI TO DIE! _LEAVE ME ALONE!_" Hanaski cried out with tears leaking from his eyes.

"HANASKI! DON'T GIVE UP! DON'T LET MARIK CONTROL YOU! FIGHT HIM!" Yugi cried out to his friend.

"YUUUUUUUGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Hanaski cried out while running toward his best friend, and then glomped on him. Yugi felt his soul shifting into another soul room. It was filled with comic books, duel monsters, and little play toys. Yugi looked around, then gasped when he saw a _familiar face_. It was the guy _Namu_ that Atem met during the Battle City Ceremony.

_"NAMU!"_ Yugi glared.

"Not really. It's Marik. I suppose my identity was going to be revealed some time. For now, I'm just having a little fun with your friend," Marik smirked evilly.

"Get out of Hanaski!" Yugi glared as the Eye of Horus appeared on his forehead and Marik felt a huge wave blast against him, making him disappear into the midst.

* * *

><p>Yugi woke up with a gasp to find Hanaski passed out from the outcome of what just happened in his mind room. Yugi saw Possessed Joey unlock Hanaski's cuff and cuff it on his own wrist. Yugi rose two eyebrows as Possessed Joey picked Yugi up by his throat.<p>

_"Seeing that Hanaski's out of my control, if you don't bring your brother out to duel, then Joey will be cast into the sea!"_ Possessed Joey threatened.

_"That son of a bitch! Let me take over!"_ Atem glared.

_"Br... other... I... I'll be... by your side,"_ Yugi replied, choking from Possessed Joey's grip as he felt Atem's soul take over in his place. Possessed Joey dropped Atem to the ground, then walked back to the other side of the docks, but not before taking the deck from Hanaski.

_"Ugh,"_ Hanaski moaned.

"Hang on, Hanaski! I'm gonna get Joey back! He's been my best friend since childhood! If there's anyone who can bring him back, it's me," Atem promised.

_"I know you can do it, Brother!"_ Yugi cheered.

"Joey!" Atem called out to his best friend, Joey, who was still possessed. "You keep fighting too! If Hanaski can get out of Marik's control, so can you! You're the strongest person I know and always have been! I'll always keep fighting for you and I know you'll do the same for me!"

_"It's hopeless, Atem! Hanaski may have gotten over my control, by Yugi's cheating, but I will make sure this one doesn't get close to you!"_ Possessed Joey smirked evilly.

"I'll free Joey, if it's the last thing I do! I won't forgive you for turning Joey into a puppet!"

_"You talk big, for a shrimp! I believe it's your turn!"_ Possessed Joey replied as Atem drew his next card. He peered at his deck, then noticed Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Possessed Joey's head lit up and his eyes temporarily changed back to its normal brown.

_"I think he hears Red-Eyes!"_ Yugi told his brother. _"I think you should use it!"_

_'Good idea!'_ Atem replied, then looked at his cards. _'Hm, I'd like to try something.'_ "I play Card Exchange!"

_"BROTHER!"_

_'If Joey touches Red-Eyes, maybe Damon can kick some sense into him!'_

Atem closed his eyes tightly as Possessed Joey walked up to the other side of the dock trade cards with his opponent. While walking, he said, _"what bad cards could you have? Whatever, I'll just..."_ Then that's when he saw it, Red-Eyes Black Dragon. _"What a complete moron!"_ He mocked before touching the Red-Eyes Black Dragon card, then a gasp left his mouth. Marik, from Joey's soul room which consisted of swords, guns, wrestling posters, and arcade games, saw an older male with black hair and bloody red eyes.

"Who the hell are _you_?" Marik asked the male.

"You dare use my little brother as a shoe toy?" Damon glared furiously. "I _will_ banish you from this room!"

"Over my own dead body!" Marik smirked as he used his millennium rod to pin up Damon against the wall of the soul room. "_I'm_ in control of this room!"

"Not in my lifetime, you son of a bitch!"

"Quiet or I'll gladly destroy this soul room of your precious _brother_."

"I WON'T FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS!"

"Keep talking, I'm just getting warmed up!"

_"Keep fighting him, Pharaoh! I'll fight off Marik!"_ Damon cried out to Yugi from Joey's soul room.

* * *

><p>Yugi gasped at the message. He heard a voice of an older male telling him to keep fighting. He seemed to be struggling, but was strongly fighting with everything he had. Yugi knew it was Red-Eyes Black Dragon. He was going to continue the duel while Damon fought off Marik.<p>

Joey froze in place before his hand moved to a different card and removed it from Atem's hand. _It was not Red-Eyes!_ This meant that Marik had not taken _complete_ control over Joey now. When Possessed Joey saw what he had in his hand, his eyes widened and a gasp left his mouth.

_"YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH!"_ Possessed Joey cursed before turning to Atem. _"I'll make your little meddling friend pay for that!"_

"We'll see about that!" Atem replied with a deep glare. "Damon will bring Joey back to normal! You'll see!"

_"Keep telling that to yourself! Now, let's continue the duel shall we?"_

"We will and I _will_ bring Joey back! I believe in him and I believe in Damon! They're great companions and close brothers! You'll never understand their bond, Marik!"

_"Bonds! Friends! You just need to go to f***ing hell!"_ Possessed Joey cussed out Atem. _"Next thing you know, you'll be ranting about_ Heart of the Cards_ or some kind of bullshit!"_

"What the hell is _heart of the cards_? It sounds like a metaphor that someone made up to make it seem exciting, but makes no sense whatsoever!"

_"How the hell should I know? Let's just duel!"_

"Gladly!"


	20. Decision of Atem

**Here's the next chapter. This should be the last chapter of the duel to finish it off before the real action finally happens. I'm gonna have the aftermath of the duel done differently, since Hanaski is part of this and I see Atem ending this duel differently than Yugi. Review please!**

Joey smirked evilly at Atem, who kept his eyes at his hand while trying to decide what to play next. Damon was already doing his job by trying to kick Marik out of Joey's mind and Hanaski was already back to normal, or at least wasn't being brainwashed anymore. Atem knew he had to make his next move before time ran out.

"I sacrifice Big Shield Guardner and Kuriboh to summon out Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Atem declared as Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared with a tremendous roar. He hoped that this dragon would help Joey fight off Marik. "Joey, Damon is fighting for you! I know you're strong enough to break Marik's control! Red-Eyes, attack Alligator Sword!" Red-Eyes Black Dragon blew fire from its mouth and destroyed Alligator Sword, leaving Joey with 3100 life points.

_"Is that all you got?"_ Possessed Joey smirked with an evil grin.

"I still have a few tricks up my sleeve!"

_"Well, no matter. Your little friend is gone and I will use another banned card on my next turn and put your life points down to zero!"_

"Then give it your best shot!"

_"BROTHER!"_ Yugi cried aloud.

_"It's my turn! I play Hinotama!"_ Possessed Joey declared aloud as tons of fire balls crushed on Atem and left him with 700 life points.

"ATEM!" Seto cried before feeling his arms shake. He then felt his left hand stinging and clasped his other hand on top of it where Atem's name was shown. "Damn you."

_"I'm not done yet! I summon Rocket Warrior and use its special ability! It can take 1500 damage from your monster! Let's see it go to work!"_ Possessed Joey explained before Rocket Warrior changed into a rocket and hit Red-Eyes Black Dragon, leaving it with 900 attack. It fell on the ground with a loud screech. Possessed Joey's eyes began changing back to normal as he heard a loud cry.

_"JOSEPH!"_ Damon cried in pain.

"D-Damon?" Joey muttered before his eyes turned hollow again.

_"Kill him Joey! Damon no longer matters to you!"_ Marik voiced inside Joey's head.

"Joey," Atem muttered, feeling hurt and helpless on the inside.

_"Brother, let me take over!"_ Yugi cried out to Atem, feeling his hurt and pain.

"No Yugi, I can free Joey, and Marik might throw us into the sea!"

_"I don't care! You're hurting and I can't lose you!"_

_"Neither can I,"_ Atem muttered as he took the millennium puzzle off from around his neck.

_"BROTHER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"_

"Protecting you," Atem replied while walking to the other side of the dock where Joey was dueling at.

_"What do you think you're doing?"_ Possessed Joey asked with glaring eyes.

Atem placed the millennium necklace around Hanaski's neck. Hanaski was still out cold, so he never responded to this.

_"Hanaski, please take care of Yugi,"_ Atem whispered.

_"Atem, don't do this! What if I never see you again?"_ Yugi pleaded as tears began leaking down his face. Atem placed his hand on Yugi's soft cheek and wiped some tears.

"I can bring Joey back to normal, you just watch, Yugi. I love you," Atem said before giving Yugi a warm hug, then walking back to the other side of the dock.

_"Please be okay!"_

_"What a complete moron! That boy is out cold! Joey, take that puzzle and throw it in the sea!"_ Marik commanded Joey.

Possessed Joey smirked evilly as he knelt down to get the puzzle and was about to take a piece off until the puzzle glowed and Hanaski gasped, waking up from his sleep. He saw Joey, who looked possessed, and began to scream.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Hanaski screamed, then stared at Atem. "Atem, what's going on?" He then noticed the puzzle around his neck. "Why are you giving me your puzzle?"

"Hanaski, get out, now!" Atem cried to Hanaski, who fled from Joey to protect the puzzle, knowing he was brainwashed or something, but didn't leave the dock.

"Please, tell me, what's going on?"

"Joey's brainwashed by Marik and I'm dueling to set him free!"

"Shit."

_"No matter, I will still kill every inch of your life!"_ Possessed Joey smirked.

"No, you won't," Atem glared boldly. "Joey and I were friends since five! He was always there for me and I was always there for him and I'm here to set him free! I've got fourteen minutes and it's my turn, so shut your crap!" He drew his next card. "I place two cards face-down, then I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior!"

_"My turn!"_ Possessed Joey declared while drawing his next card. He peered at his hand to predict his next move. _"I summon Panther Warrior in attack mode, then have him attack..."_ His eyes then changed to normal colored. _"BETA!"_

* * *

><p>"WHAT?" Marik glared from inside of Joey's mind room. He then noticed two pairs of hands grabbing his millennium rod, it was Damon. "LET GO!"<p>

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU USE THIS FOR EVIL!" Damon yelled with red bloody eyes.

Damon and Marik wrestled to the ground as the third eye appeared on Damon's forehead. Marik gasped in shock, there was no way any human, or spirit, could survive the power of the millennium rod, unless...

"You're one of the Pharaoh's former priests!" Marik realized in shock.

"During... Seth's rule," Damon replied with a wicked smirk shown on his lips. "Only the previous owner of the millennium items can take one away from another. You should know this, being a tomb keeper!"

"I won't let you take the damn rod!"

"Your intentions are for evil and this evil is destroying my brother's mind and using him as a puppet!"

"GET OFF OF ME, DEMON EYES!"

* * *

><p>"Trap card activate!" Atem declared as his trap card showed and a box opened, revealing two cymbals on a fence-arm. It grabbed Rocket Warrior, then aimed it at Panther Warrior, leaving it with 500 attack. "Then, I sacrifice Beta to summon out Archfiend of Gilfer!" Beta the Magnet Warrior disappeared and replaced with Archfiend of Gilfer. Atem noticed Joey seeming to be... <em>quiet.<em> It was as if he was fighting hard against himself. Atem knew that his friend was fighting out of Marik's control and was close to succeeding. "Gilfer destroys Rocket Warrior!" Archfiend of Gilfer destroyed Rocket Warrior, leaving Joey with 2400 life points. "I end my turn!"

Atem knew he had less than 10 minutes to free Joey from Marik's control. So far, Damon was doing an excellent job in fighting off Marik's control. Joey seemed quiet and it was as if he was struggling to even talk or stand up. Atem felt that this was somewhat of a success, but he still had less than 10 minutes. There was no time left!

Possessed Joey drew his next card and heard Marik, seemingly struggling, saying, _"don't do anything, Joey! UGH! Just stay where you are and my revenge will be done for!"_

"Joey, if you're still in there, I know you're fighting! We're fighting too! Damon's fighting and I'm fighting! I don't want you to forget what you're fighting for! What about Serena?" Atem cried out to Joey as his eyes changed back to normal. "You dueled here to give her courage! I'm dueling for that too! Not only are you giving her courage, but me! You were the one that gave me the courage to stand up to Huritani when I couldn't alone!" Joey stared at Atem blankly.

"You gave me courage too!" Hanaski cried out. "I was all alone with no friends until you guys became my friends!"

"I don't want you to give up that courage, Joey! I think you gave Damon that courage too! That's why he's fighting for you! REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!" Atem screamed aloud.

_"My turn!"_ Possessed Joey muttered, his eyes changing to slightly hallow. "_I play two face-downs, then place Panther Warrior in attack mode! I end!"_

"That's right, Joey! Keep fighting!" Hanaski cried out to Joey.

"My turn!" Atem declared before drawing his next card. "I fold one card, then attack Panther Warrior with my Archfiend the Gilfer!" Archfiend the Gilfer flew over to attack until...

_"I reveal Skull Dice and Graceful Dice!"_ Possessed Joey declared as the two cards revealed themselves and two little men, one with angel wings on its hat and the other with bat wings on its hat, appeared. They both threw their die to weaken Atem's monster and strengthen Panther Warrior's attack.

"I use my spell card De-Spell!" Atem revealed as his face-down card turned face-up. "I use this to get rid of Graceful Dice!" Graceful Dice disappeared from the field, leaving only Skull Dice. Possessed Joey gasped slightly as Skull Dice threw its red die and it rolled across the field. It landed on a one, giving Atem a huge sigh of relief. _'That was too close for comfort! At least I still had a chance!'_ "My monster continues its attack!" Archfiend the Gilfer sliced through Panther Warrior and it disappeared from the field, leaving Joey with 700 life points left. Him and Atem were even, just like he predicted._ 'I'm gonna bring you back, Joey.'_

While Atem was thinking, he heard Mokuba cry, "SETO!" He turned his head and saw Mokuba punch the guy, who was holding him at gun point not too long ago. On the Rare Hunter's hand, sinking in his skin, was Seto's Blue-Eyes White Dragon card. Seto stepped in and punched the Rare Hunter across the face, then took his card back.

"Mokuba, are you okay?" Seto asked Mokuba before embracing him.

"I'm fine!" Mokuba replied. Atem smirked widely, then gave a nod.

Seto and Mokuba ran toward Atem's location as Possessed Joey drew his next card. He stared at the card he drew like he was hypnotized by it. Atem kept his eyes focused while noticing Seto running to the two duelists.

"ATEM!" Seto cried out to his friend.

"Seto, stand by Hanaski, I'll find a way to get Joey back to normal!" Atem promised as Seto gave a serious nod.

"Be careful!" Mokuba cried.

_"They're right, Brother! Please be careful!"_ Yugi begged Atem as he gave his brother a half smile.

"SHUT UP!" Joey cried out with tears streaming out of his eyes. He clamped onto his head, grabbing a handful of hair. "DAMON! HELP ME! GET HIM OUT OF MY HEAD, PLEEEEAAAAAASE!"

"JOEY!" Hanaski cried.

"Damon, let me talk to Marik, I have a few things to tell him!" Atem shouted from across the docks. "It seems we don't have time! In fact, we have about three minutes before we both get sunk into the sea! That doesn't matter, because the fact you couldn't hold your control on either of my friends just makes you a loser!"

_"WHAT?"_ Marik glared from inside of Joey's mind.

"You heard me!" Atem shouted, not paying attention to the fact that he just heard Marik inside his mind. "You can control my friends and they'll break out of your spell eventually! If you wanna prove me wrong, then give it your best shot! KILL ME RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW! COWARD!"

_"NOBODY CALLS ME A COWARD!"_ Marik shouted inside Joey's and Atem's mind before Possessed Joey revealed a card in his hand.

_"I use Meteor of Destruction!"_ Possessed Joey shouted, playing the card, right before Marik felt his millennium rod being snatched from his hand.

* * *

><p>Marik gasped before finding himself being pinned on the wall of Joey's soul room by the millennium rod's power. Damon glared at Marik with his deadly red eyes, holding the rod, and sticking the end of it under the boy's chin.<p>

"It seems you failed!" Damon smirked as the Eye of Horus on his forehead glowed brighter. "I BANISH YOU FROM MY BROTHER'S MIND! YOU CAN TAKE YOUR ROD WITH YOU AND IF I EVER SEE YOU HERE AGAIN, I WILL DESTROY EVERY ASPECTS OF YOUR MIND!"

Marik cried and wailed in pain before disappearing from Joey's soul room. The millennium rod disappeared from Damon's hands as well before Damon showed a half smile. He had done it! He had set Joseph free at last.

* * *

><p>Joey gasped while seeing the Meteor of Destruction heading for Atem. Thinking it was real, and not a hologram, he cried, "ATEEEEEEEEEM!"<p>

_"JOEY'S BACK!"_ Yugi cried joyfully.

"I activate my trap card, Mystical Rift Panel!" Atem declared as a mirror appeared with a lady carrying it. The mirror trapped the attack of the spell card. "Joey, are you okay?"

"Where am I? What the hell happened?" Joey asked, feeling scared out of his mind.

"Marik was controlling you and Hanaski, but you two fought out of Marik's control!"

"THAT SON OF A BITCH USED ME AS A SOCK PUPPET?"

"Yes, but it's over now!" Atem promised. "I target my attack on me!"

"What?"

"HOLY SHIT!" Mokuba cried aloud.

The Meteor of Destruction took away the rest of Atem's life points and Joey's box opened, showing his key to unlocking his cuffs, before the timer for 40 seconds showed on the bomb that would blow up and drop the anchor. Atem knew Joey didn't have time and had to hurry or both of them would drown in the sea!

"Joey, the key is in your box, unlock your cuffs!" Atem shouted, putting his wrist behind his back to keep Joey from seeing it. Joey quickly unlocked the cuff around his wrist.

"What about you, Atem?" Hanaski asked with worry on his face.

"What do you..." Joey asked after taking off his cuff, then realized there was another one around Atem's wrist. "ATEM!"

"Take care of Yugi!" Atem said with a sad smile.

_"NO! BROTHER! DON'T LEAVE ME!"_ Yugi screamed while his spirit ran and glomped on Atem, squeezing him tightly. He nuzzled his face against his brother's neck. _"I LOVE YOU!"_

_"I love you too,"_ Atem whispered before laying a small kiss on Yugi's head. "I always will."

The bomb to the anchor blew up and Atem felt his arm jerk from the yanking of the chain, which discombobulate his arm. The second passed by and he found himself into the waters. He held his breath as he began sinking deeper and deeper into the sea. Yugi's arms were still embraced around him, not willing to let go. Atem never wanted to leave Yugi either. In fact, he didn't want life to pass before his eyes if he was to die. Atem decided to talk to Yugi through their mind link.

_'Yugi, I think I discombobulated my arm,'_ Atem said.

_"Our friends are gonna come and rescue you! I promise!"_ Yugi promised, his voice filled with fear.

_'Hey Yugi, you think maybe we should take a break after this? I mean we've got six locator cards. I can go take Serenity out for our first date. We've been talking about that for a while.'_

_"Th-That's a great idea."_

_'She can even meet you when she takes off those god damn bandages."_

Yugi chuckled sarcastically in his mind and replied, _"yeah."_

_'Oh shit! My chest hurts like hell!'_

_"It's okay Yami, our friends will save you!"_

_'I can't hold it in much longer, Yugi!'_

Atem began swishing around with his free arm and legs. He felt that if he didn't get help sooner, he would drown and die under the sea. If he wasn't trying to hold his breath to keep the water from entering his lungs, he would be screaming at this current point. _Was there any rescue?_

_"BROTHER! DON'T DIE! YOU JUST CAN'T DIE!"_ Yugi cried while holding onto Atem's hand. Atem then felt his separation from the puzzle take effect. Yugi could not stay with Atem and felt his spirit staying at the exact place. Atem, for that very moment, niether tried to swim up to the surface or felt the pain in his lungs. He held onto Yugi's hand as their arms stretched, then their hands slowly unhooked and Atem felt the tips of those soft and warm fingers before that little light of hope was gone and he could feel himself descending into the dark waters.


	21. The Courage to See

**NEXT CHAPTER! I know you guys have been waiting for this very moment and I have been working on how I was going to pull this off. I now have prepared for this very moment to make the finishing blow to this pier duel. Review please!**

Duke drove his car quickly with Mai following them. Serenity bit her bottom lip with her fingers fidgeting. She wanted to run up to Atem in his strong arms and know that he was okay. She was so scared, she couldn't speak. Tristan could sense the nerve-wrecking atmosphere where Serenity was. He was starting to feel sorry for the poor girl.

Duke kept his eyes focused as he saw the pier and knew he had made it right on time, especially when he saw Joey, Hanaski, and Atem on the docks. Seto and Mokuba were standing right outside of the area where the boys were dueling.

"We're here!" Duke said.

"Atem!" Serenity cried out, reaching her hands to grab the door out of reflects. As soon as the car stopped, she heard an explosion, coming from the bomb above an anchor, which dropped right down to the sea and carrying Atem with it.

"ATEM!" Everyone, including Serenity, cried aloud as Atem splashed into the sea.

"ATEM! WHERE IS HE?" Serenity screamed in fear, feeling tears leaking through her bandages.

"Serenity!" Joey cried.

"What happened?" Duke asked with glaring eyes.

"Some asshole named Marik brainwashed Joey and Hanaski and now your friend's in the sea!" Seto replied.

"What?" Serenity asked confused.

"Don't worry!" Mokuba said, not making any haste, and hooked some wires into the life point box where Atem's key was. The wires, hooked onto a mini calculator-like machine, decreased the numbers of Joey's life points down to zero. The box lid flipped open and showed Atem's key. "Here it is!"

Before anyone could say anything, Serenity grabbed the key, knowing how to sense movement from being blind and knowing where Mokuba's position and the key was, then dived into the sea.

"Serenity!" Joey cried aloud, but it was too late. Serenity dove into the sea, attempting to rescue Atem.

"Can she swim?" Tristan asked in panic.

"She took swimming lessons while being sick at the hospital. I hope she knows what to do when rescuing someone drowning," Joey said, feeling more nervous than he ever was before.

Serenity swam deeper into the sea, feeling the bubbles slowly escaping from her nose. Though, she couldn't see in the sea, she could detect movement and she felt little bubbles that were not from her. She kept following the bubbles until she felt a slap from _a hand_. Atem was trying to swim up to the surface!

Serenity lowered her body at Atem's level, so she wouldn't get hurt by his swishing arm, then wrapped herself under his discombobulated arm. She pressed her mouth against his, so he wouldn't breathe the water in his mouth, while unlocking the cuff from his discombobulated arm.

Atem felt warm lips against his and wanted to open his eyes to find out who this person was, but knew if he did, his eyes would hurt like hell. The only thing he could do was swish his only arm back and forth while kicking his legs, but neither of them could reach this stranger. He also felt the cuff on his arm unlocking and removed from his wrist.

Serenity quickly removed her lips from Atem's and covered it and the nose with her hand while swimming behind him. She jerked his head up while swimming her boyfriend up to the surface. She knew she was supposed to place his arms behind his back, but was afraid that Atem might accidently hurt her with all the swishing and slapping around he was doing. Though, his arms did seem to relax a little bit while swimming him up and Serenity was able to reach to the surface a little easier.

Serenity pushed Atem as far high to the surface as she could. He gasped aloud and began coughing and breathing hardly. He grabbed onto the side of the docks to get some air.

"ATEM!" Joey and Hanaski cried aloud in happiness.

"You're okay!" Hanaski cried in joy.

"Hey guys, give him room!" Tristan told everyone.

Serenity put one arm around Atem and said, "It's okay, Atem! I'm right here!"

Atem recognized that beautiful voice, filled with innocents, anywhere. He tiredly moved his head and saw Serenity, bandages still around her eyes and her hair and clothes all wet. _She saved his life!_

_"Serena,"_ Atem said horsily. _"What are you doing here?"_

"I was worried and wanted to see you," Serenity replied before holding Atem in her arms and resting her head on that warm soft chest. She felt tears gathering on Atem's black T-Shirt. "I was scared I'd lose you!"

"You gave us quite a scare!" Mokuba said.

"Don't _ever_ do that again, Atem! I should beat the living daylights outta you for that!" Joey glared.

"Sorry, but my friends are more important than myself," Atem replied.

"At least you're safe!" Serenity said with a warm smile before she and Atem climbed out of the water. That's when Atem realized something.

"I think I discombobulated my arm," Atem cringed from the pain.

"I can fix that!" Joey said before taking Atem's shoulder, and pulling it back.

_"AH!"_ Atem screamed before moving his arm again. "Thanks."

"No prob, buddy," Joey smirked. "It's the least I can do after almost killing you."

Atem smiled at Joey, then Serenity took a deep breath and began to reach for the back tie of the bandages around her eyes.

"Hey, you're taking off your bandages!" Tristan said.

"I want to see the world and you were right, I can find courage in myself. I found the courage to come all the way here and I can find the courage to see," Serenity said before her bandages fell from her face.

Atem stood frozen still as he watched those eyes flutter open, revealing those hazel eyes that made him melt. Even though he was no longer five, he still felt himself melting by the sight of those beautiful eyes. Serenity began seeing the brightness of the world for the first time in _years_. She saw a group of people. One of them had to be her Atem.

One man was a tall brown haired man with bright blue eyes, who wore a white trench coat with black underneath. _That wasn't Atem!_ Another was a blond haired scruffy man with chocolate brown eyes and a sly smirk, who wore a sporty shirt and dirty jeans. _This was Joey!_ There was a small boy with long messy black hair and bright violet eyes, who wore some pants and a striped shirt under a vest. He was a cute little thing, but this was obviously _not_ Atem. _It was the boy who retrieved the key!_ There was a man with long hair in a ponytail, which seemed like he hadn't washed in days, bright green eyes, and wore raggedy clothing. _This was probably Duke._ There was a man with brown hair, seemed like a tough guy, and wore a brown coat and jeans. _This was Tristan, the serious one. Where was Atem?_

That was when Serenity noticed a shorter guy. He held spikey black hair and blond bangs and those dark violet eyes that were more beautiful than the night sky. His muscles were tight and warm and his smile made her world seem brighter. _This was him! This was her Atem!_ There were no words to this. He was more beautiful than the last she saw him.

_"Atem,"_ Serenity whispered before she placed her hand on that warm soft cheek. "You're beautiful!"

Tristan flinched, he did not expect Serenity to have any interest toward Atem, though nothing could prepare him to what came next. Atem took Serenity in his arms and kissed her warm lips, laying his tongue against them to take in that wonderful taste. Serenity let a slight moan escape her nose. A part of her wondered if this offended Tristan or not, though it was not like Atem would've known about Tristan's crush toward her and it wasn't like she was the one _doing_ the kissing. Serenity decided to worry about Tristan later and hoped he would understand and not let his jealousy ruin a good friendship. _She doubted it!_

Tristan glared at Joey and whispered, _"why didn't you tell me she was with _him_?"_

_"It's worth seeing you squirm when you're thinking dirty about my sister,"_ Joey whispered back. Atem never heard any of this. Tristan shot daggers at Joey in reply. He was going to have to make Joey pay for that!

After the kiss, Hanaski ran up to Atem and showed the millennium puzzle. Atem looked down and saw the puzzle in his friend's hands. Hanaski said, "I believe this belongs to you."

"Thanks," Atem replied, taking the puzzle.

"And since we both have six locator cards, we can follow the map to the hidden location!" Seto brought up as Atem nodded in reply, his hands on Serenity's hips.

"According to the deadline, I should be on the blimp by tomorrow right?" Atem asked.

"You're smart."

"So, what's your name?" Serenity asked.

"Seto Kaiba, president of Kaiba Corporation!" Seto replied.

"Hello Mr. Kaiba," Serenity greeted as she put out her hand and her and Seto shook hands. "Atem's told me all about you. You're a really good friend!"

"Pleasure to meet his squeeze," Seto smirked.

"Yeah, I'm Mokuba, Seto's brother!" Mokuba introduced himself. "Wow, she's hot! I can see why you like her!"

Atem snorted while Serenity giggled, saying, "aw, that's sweet."

"Glad to see everything turned out alright!" Mai smirked as Atem looked over at the blond woman.

"Mai Valentine! How'd you get here?"

"I followed your friends here when I heard you were about to drown yourself," Mai replied.

"How many locator cards did you gather?"

"Six and no more!"

"Nice!"

"Looks like I'll be seeing you at the finals!"

Atem smirked and nodded, then said, "since I don't have to do anything until tomorrow, I'm thinking about taking my girlfriend out."

"A DATE?" Serenity squealed excitedly.

"My treat. I heard a new Planet of the Apes was on."

"That'd be wonderful and maybe after, we can go for ice cream!"

"Then it's settled."

"Have fun, just remember to check the blimp tonight before it takes off to the hidden location on the map," Seto said as Atem nodded.

"Good, because I don't want your ego to be too high," Atem teased before Seto gave a glare in return.

Seto and Mokuba left on the helicopter and Atem and Serenity left for their date. They said goodbye to their friends before they left. Of course, Hanaski joined along, since his house was on the way to the movies anyway. Atem placed the puzzle back around his neck and felt Yugi's excitement that he was alright. Atem smiled at the feeling of Yugi's presents inside him once again.

Atem decided to change to Yugi, since he was anxious to check and see how Hanaski was doing. He asked, "Hanaski, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Hanaski replied with his childish smile. Serenity noticed something _different_ about Atem. It was as if he was another person at this point and sounded like the one she talked on the phone with. "Thanks for the save."

"Anytime. I was scared I would never see you again."

"I was scared I would never see _you_ again, especially when At- _you_ almost drowned."

Yugi showed a childish smile, then gave Hanaski a tight hug. Serenity giggled and asked, "Atem, are you okay? You're acting completely unlike you!"

"I'll explain later," Yugi replied before turning to Hanaski. "I'll see ya later! Oh, and where's Tea?"

"She's at the hospital with Ryan. I think that ring is making Ryou go loopy again," Hanaski replied.

_"Ring?"_ Serenity asked.

_"Oh no,"_ Yugi whispered. "You better go to Ryan before things go out of hand."

Hanaski nodded, then left to his house. Yugi said to Atem,_ 'you're probably gonna have to tell Serenity now.'_

_"Good idea,"_ Atem agreed before taking over, then facing Serenity. "Serena, there's something I have to tell you."


	22. The Night Before

**Hey, here comes the next chapter. The good news is that this is now my own chapter I'm adding, because I think in reality, Yugi should've had some time to pack his bags before leaving on the blimp. I mean in the anime and manga, after getting six locator cards, he just went onto the blimp. There was no packing or anything. So, I'm gonna give my Atem some time to set himself up after winning. Review please!**

Atem and Serenity were inside the theater and have just finished watching the new Planet of the Apes. Atem threw away a half empty bucket of popcorn and two large soda drinks. Serenity had the biggest smile on her face, excited to actually see with her own eyes for the first time and enjoy a movie. Atem held Serenity's hand and they walked along the hall.

"That was great!" Serenity said.

"I know! I especially liked it when those apes broke out of that animal control prison. That was funny," Atem replied while chuckling.

"I thought that was funny too!" Serenity agreed. "So, did Yugi enjoy it?"

"Are you kidding? He was hopping around like a monkey. Speaking of _monkeys_..."

Serenity laughed in response, then said, "you know, I'd find it hard to believe you have a second personality."

"For the last time, Yugi is not my _second personality_," Atem sighed while rolling his eyes.

_"Whatever you say."_

"By the way, thanks for not thinking I was crazy when I picked up Yugi while he took over."

"I don't see you as being _crazy_, unless you and Joey watch the Olympic Games."

"Hey!" Atem smirked as Serenity giggled.

"I think it's cute that you both are so close."

Atem sighed while hearing Serenity laughing in the background. It was true! Atem had never been close with anyone like he was with Yugi. Atem always felt like he _needed_ Yugi by his side though every situation and every minute of the day. It was hard for him to imagine his life without Yugi. Atem pushed that thought aside, since he was on a date.

The couple walked down the parking lot to the location of Atem's parked motorcycle. Atem dug into his pocket for his keys to turn on the vehicle. He got out two helmets, giving Serenity one for herself, before turning it on. Atem drove down the street to where the hotel, where Serenity and her mother were staying for the night, was located. It was not that far, luckily.

Atem dropped off Serenity next to the hotel before she took off her helmet, giving her helmet hair. She laughed before feeling herself being held by Atem's two strong arms. She could not help, but look into those dark mysterious eyes that made her melt.

_"I love you so much,"_ Serenity whispered.

"I love you too, Serena," Atem replied, slowly touching Serenity's left cheek. Serenity closed her eyes while leaning her head against that warm hand. "So, where's the ice cream at?"

"It's over there," Serenity replied, pointing to an ice cream shop across from the hotel.

"Close enough. I suppose we can cross there."

"At least we're by a stop light. It should be easier to cross the intersection."

"Or we can jaywalk."

Serenity giggled before pulling Atem into a deep kiss. He returned it. They then began to walk across the street when the light turned red. They got some ice cream before Atem took Serenity back home, then drove himself back to Kaiba Corp. where the blimp was.

Seto was waiting outside of the blimp, waiting for Atem to arrive and check the blimp. He got off his motorcycle, then walked up the stairs to the inside of the blimp. Atem scanned the inside of it, noting the rooms everyone would sleep at, including several beds for friends or family coming along. Atem was impressed by this.

Seto followed Atem as he was checking the blimp. He began showing a smirk when he entered the lounge, then climbed up the stairs to the top of the blimp. There was a glass dome over the room where a dueling stage was located in the middle and an area for others to watch. There were also cameras to record the duels. Atem nodded his head with folded arms.

"So, how does this hold up?" Seto asked with a slight smirk.

"Well, I can sum it up like this..." Atem replied while walking down the steps back into the lounge. He began pointing to different objects or areas. "Crap." Pointing to the large picture of Seto. "Crap." Pointing to a frozen fountain of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "Crap." Pointing to a blueprint of a Blue-Eyes White Jet. "Crap." Pointing to a statue of Seto and Mokuba in the lounge. "Crap." Pointing to the blueprint of a holographic Colosseum background for a duel with holographic people chanting Seto's name. "Crap." Pointing to the picture of the Kaiba Manson before climbing up the stairs back to the top of the blimp. "OH MOTHER OF GOD, THAT IS SO FREAKIN COOL!" Looking all excited while staring at the dueling stage. Atem then folded his arms again, then showed a half smirk before holding up a napkin from the floor with a Blue-Eyes White Dragon on it. "Crap."

"You're such an asshole."

"Seto, if I was to earn a penny for every inch of your ego, I'd be richer than you," Atem smirked as Seto shot him a glare. "_Seriously?_ _A Blue-Eyes White Jet?_ What's wrong with a regular jet? And how is your holographic Colosseum gonna work if you lose? Also, don't you think I get enough of your ego just by staring at you? By the way, nice jacket."

"I'll lower up my_ 'ego,'_" Seto replied in a rude manner.

"And get rid of the f***ing Blue-Eyes White Jet, you're worse than Michael Jackson."

"As long as you arrive tomorrow!" Seto replied before throwing keys to Atem. He nodded, then looked at the back of Seto's left hand with his name on it.

"Just so you know, there's nothing wrong with accepting people into your life," Atem said before leaving off of the blimp with Seto watching his friend leave and glaring.

After Atem left, Seto stood there staring at Atem's name imprinted on the back of his left hand. There was no doubt in Seto's mind that he cared about Atem alot. He was like family now! He even showers or stays over once and a while. Still, Seto never _wanted_ to accept Atem in the first place. He never _wanted_ friends. It wasn't like he asked Atem to help him when he needed it!

Seto stared at some blueprints that were not meant for Battle City, but to build another Kaiba Corporation building. While staring, his eyebrows scrunched down, pointing at his nose. A sigh left his mouth.

* * *

><p>Atem drove on his motorcycle down the road to the game shop. He parked his motorcycle by the house, then entered inside. His mother sat on the couch with her pink robe while watching TV. She looked up and showed a small smile. Atem smiled, then gave a nod in reply.<p>

"Atem, how's Battle City? Did you win six locator cards?" Uka asked.

"Yep. I had some trouble, but it was fun," Atem replied before Uka gave a nod.

"Tea called. She said to tell you that Ryan is acting _funny_. Is something wrong with him?"

"He's..._ it's complicated._ He had some sort of injury. A friend helped him to the hospital."

"_Oh._ Well, I hope he's alright."

"I'm sure he will be. Anyways..." Atem said before yawning. "I need to hit the hay. I have a big day tomorrow."

"Then goodnight!"

"Goodnight!"

Atem entered his room and plopped on the bed. He felt extremely exhausted. Yugi's spirit appeared next to Atem. He was staring at the ceiling while Atem reached out and curled his finger around his brother's blond lock. Yugi giggled, then snuggled himself up on Atem with his arms around the waist. Atem laid a kiss on Yugi's cheek before holding the spirit tighter.

"We have a big day tomorrow!" Atem said.

_"Yeah, we do,"_ Yugi replied. He looked at Atem with his chin laying on his folded arms. He seemed to have a worried look in his eyes.

"Yugi, something's bothering you. What's wrong?"

_"It's Namu, he was Marik the whole time."_

"Yugi, that's crazy! Why would Namu be Marik if he saved Ryan? I'm sure there's another explanation."

_"I saw it when I was inside Hanaski's soul room. I..."_

* * *

><p>Yugi then found his spirit being sucked into Atem's soul room and mount against the wall, like Damon when he was inside Joey's soul room. Yugi struggled, but couldn't free himself. He then found the millennium rod under his chin, held by Marik and his sickly smirk.<p>

"Nice try, Pharaoh, but I already got a hold of your vessle!" Marik smirked evilly.

"You're controlling Brother?" Yugi asked with narrowed eyes before feeling his face being pushed and pinched against the soul room wall by the millennium rod.

"Listen _Pharaoh_, I will destroy you in Battle City, _buuuuuuut_ I might spare Atem if you cooperate. Even if you do warn him, I can always wipe his memory or parts of it. Make any desperate moves and you may never see your precious _brother_ again!"

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Yugi screamed, tears streaming down his eyes. "GET OUT OF HIM!"

"Don't worry, Pharaoh. All I needed him to do was to give me your location. I'm very good for now, so I won't harass Atem anymore. Just keep your mouth shut to everyone else and I just might spare him. Make one little word and I will destroy his mind room, and don't think I'll hesitate. You live inside his body, whose mind I control, so I will know if you plan on doing anything. Deal?"

_"D-D-Deal."_

"Excellent. Now, where were you? Oh yeah, you two were getting _fluffy_."

* * *

><p>Yugi found himself on Atem again, who was looking at him strangely, noticing the tense.<p>

"Yugi, something's bothering you. What's wrong?" Atem asked. Yugi felt helpless. He knew telling Atem would not help, since Marik controlled his mind, and if he warned his friends, Atem's soul room would be destroyed. Yugi would never see those caring eyes and that sweet smile ever again. He could not risk losing his most precious part of his heart. He couldn't help, but blame himself, because if he would've known Namu was Marik, he would've prevented this. If only Atem wore the puzzle while meeting at the Ceremonial party.

_"It's nothing,"_ Yugi replied in a whisper, then held his brother tightly in his arms while nuzzling his face on Atem's neck. _"I just love you so much!"_ There were no other words to say at this moment anymore than that.

"I love you too," Atem replied while gently rubbing his hand on his brother's back. Yugi felt a smile creep on his lips while a moan escaped almost soundlessly.

_"I wish we were together forever,"_ Yugi whispered with his eyes shut.

"I wish for that too, Yugi. I know I sound selfish, but..._ it's not fair_," Atem glared as a few tears came rolling down his cheeks and he wiped them with Yugi's hair.

_"I suppose after we win the tournament, we can stay together for a while. You can have me as long as you want."_

"I want you forever."

_"Brother!"_ Yugi whined before weeping on Atem's shoulder. He wanted to be held and loved as long as he could.

Atem could not loosen his grip on Yugi. That was _his_ Yugi and his alone. Yugi was to stay in his heart forever and ever and never leave him. Atem wished he could be this selfish for the longest of times without regretting anything. Just holding Yugi in his arms and keeping the most childish and loving person with the cutest smile he would ever see in his entire lifetime. Atem knew sooner or later, he would never see that cute little face again.

_Never._


	23. Packing to Leave

**Hello guys! Sorry I took so long to update. I needed to finish the duel in To The Unknown, but now I'm ready to rock and roll. It might take a while for the duels to finally happen, but first we need to get to the blimp and some other good stuff. Also some littlekuriboh jokes along the way. Hope you like this! Review please!**

Atem woke up the next morning to an early morning breakfast. Uka decided to give her son a fresh start for Battle City today, since it would be the last time she'd see him before he would be away for a week. Atem had his stuff packed and ready to leave on the blimp at 3:00. Uka smiled at her son, who was just happily eating away.

"You sure seem excited," Uka said happily.

"Are you kidding? I'm with the final six! I already won a god card, which should help Yugi gain his memories back," Atem replied.

"That's great! I'm proud of you, honey."

"Thanks. I hope you don't turn out like Sam's mother from Transformers 2 when I leave."

"Oh now, be nice!" Uka smirked with folded arms. "You know very well I don't act like that."

_"Right,"_ Atem replied sarcastically while rolling his eyes. "I bet you still have my Funky Monkey from when I was 10!"

"I don't show it around to your classmates, unless you want me to be that cruel," Uka teased before Atem laughed and laid a kiss on her cheek. She hugged her son with one arm. "I love you."

"I love you too," Atem replied, feeling his mother's warm hand rubbing up and down his back. They parted and he took a buttered toast from his plate and ate it. Uka smiled, brushing her hand through Atem's thick hair.

"You're growing up to be like your father."

Atem held a smirk, then replied, "I miss him too, but when are you gonna dating again?"

"When I find the right guy."

"But that's what you've been saying since day 1 and the only guy who had relations with are your coworker! I mean you know I don't give a crud who you date, even if it's my math teacher! At least grandpa had his share of dates after grandma passed away."

"ATEM!"

"It's true. Remember Penny Carway?"

"Yes, but that was when Dad was 10 years younger and it only lasted a week. I promise you I'll find the right guy that can be your father. I just don't want you to end up with a step father that treats you like Cinderella."

"Ma, I own two jobs, if I have to live on my own, I can, but you need a man to be with," Atem said, before taking another bite from his buttered toast. "I'm not ten anymore!"

"You're still under my roof and you have no say about what I do with my life."

"Whatever you say, Mom," Atem replied with a shrug. The phone rang loudly and Uka walked up to answer it. She picked up the phone and held it to her ear.

"Hello? Moto residence," Uka greeted. She paused for a while. "Yes, he's here!" She removed the phone from her ear and faced Atem. "It's Tea!"

"Kay!" Atem replied before changing to Yugi, so he could talk to Tea.

"Hey Tea! What's up?" Yugi greeted his girlfriend.

"Yugi, Ryan's gone! He just disappeared and ran from the hospital last night! I'm worried!" Tea cried.

"WHAT? That's not good! We have to find him! I get the feeling the evil spirit is back again. I just hope he doesn't hurt Ryan anymore than he is already."

"Hanaski, Joey, Duke, and Tristan are doing a wide search through the town."

"Atem and I will join along too. Love ya!"

"Love you too, Yugi!"

Yugi hung up the phone and cried, "Ryan's gone missing! I have to go search for him, Mom!"

"Okay be…" Uka replied before Yugi ran out the door and shut it._ "… careful."_

Yugi hopped on Atem's motorcycle and drove off down the street. He learned from Atem how to drive a motorcycle and would use it once and a while. At this time, Yugi needed to look for Ryan, wherever he was. This whole time, he was hoping that Ryan didn't change into his evil spirit. Yugi still remembered Ryan warning about _him_ returning. Was Ryan talking about his evil spirit? _Possibly._

Yugi and his friends searched throughout all of Domino City, but could not find their friend anywhere. It was as if he disappeared into thin air. They were beginning to worry as every minute passed by. Ryan was nowhere to be found and the finals of Battle City was about to start.

Everyone met at the Town Square to get an update on their friend's whereabouts.

"I can't find him anywhere," Hanaski said worriedly.

"Neither can we," Duke replied.

"I hope Ryan's okay," Yugi said. "Did you guys call him?"

"I tried, but he won't answer his damn phone! I think it needs charging," Joey replied. "He always did have a problem with forgetting to recharge his phone."

Yugi heard his cell phone ringing. He flipped it open and answered it, saying, "hello?"

"Found your friend, he's got all six locator cards and is by the blimp," Seto informed Yugi.

"WHAT? BUT HE'S INJURED!" Yugi gasped.

"I was thinking the same thing, but he says he's fine and seems fine too, besides the bandage around his arm."

_"That's weird. I've got a bad feeling about this,"_ Atem thought.

"Do you have a clinic inside the blimp in case the other duelists get injured?" Yugi asked.

"Yes, if I didn't, I wouldn't allow your friend to even enter _locator cards or not_," Seto replied.

"Good. We'll need to keep an eye on Ryan. At least we know he's okay," Yugi said before hanging up the phone, then facing his friends. "Ryan's entering the tournament. He's by the blimp as we speak."

"WHAT? IS HE NUTS?" Joey asked, freaking out.

"He just walks out of the hospital and enters a tournament _with a wounded arm_? Something smells fishy," Duke glared.

"My brother thinks so too. We'll need to keep an eye on Ryan. Seto says the tournament provides medical needs just in case, so Ryan should be in good hands _for now_," Yugi assured.

"Yugi, I sure hope you're right, because from what I can see, Ryan's gonna get himself in bigger trouble than that son of a bitch can handle," Tristan replied.

"Anyways, we better get our stuff and get going. We have to be at the blimp in about an hour," Yugi suggested.

"Good point. I've already got my stuff ready, so we can just take your stuff and put it in the back of my pickup," Joey offered.

Yugi changed to Atem, who then shouted, "NO SHIT! YOU BOUGHT A PICKUP?"

"Toyota baby! I was able to save up enough money to get one and you guys get to see it first hand."

_"Son of a bitch!"_

Joey laughed, along with everyone else. He walked home and got out his pickup truck, which was a grass green color. He drove it to the game shop and got Atem's stuff, placing it next to his stuff. Serenity also happened to join along for the ride, since she wanted to watch her brother and boyfriend duel. She also helped with the packing and so forth.

Uka and Solomon appeared from the game shop and gave Atem a tight hug.

"We're gonna miss you, son," Uka said.

"Same here. I'll see you in a week," Atem replied.

"We love you and good luck with Battle City," Solomon said with the biggest smile on his face.

"I will!" Atem promised before hopping inside the pickup on the driver's seat.

"HEY! I never said you could drive her!" Joey glared.

"You never said I couldn't," Atem replied with a smirk. "Besides, you drive like a drunkard and I'd hate to see you get into a wreck with Serenity inside. It's no wonder she sat in the back."

_"Fine,"_ Joey grumbled, throwing Atem the keys. He turned on the truck.

Serenity sat at the front next to Atem and Joey sat in the back, much to his disappointment.

"What's with guys and trucks?" Serenity teased.

"What's with girls and clothes?" Atem teased back before driving off down the street.

Atem drove on his way to the blimp, which was several miles. Joey hated the fact that he had to sit in the back of the truck and not drive it. Joey kept grumbling to himself how he drives just fine. Though, to be fair, it would not be everyday Atem got to drive this truck. Joey decided to let his friend give it a try. It wasn't like Atem couldn't drive.

The truck drove to a stop light, then Joey felt a huge jerk from the truck, which almost made him slip on the floor of the trunk of the pickup.

_"OH GEEZ!"_ Atem complained. Joey couldn't help, but laugh at this. It had been a while since Atem drove a stick shift automobile. From what Joey could guess, Atem forgot to toe the clutch when pressing the break to come to a stop. Joey even heard Serenity laughing her head off before Atem opened the back window. "OH SHUT UP!"

"How long as it been since you used a stick shift?" Joey asked, watching his friend roll his eyes and got back at the driver's seat to restart the truck before people from behind started honking their horns.

Atem continued to drive along the road, beginning to get the hang of the stick shift. It was only a matter of time before they finally made it to the location of the blimp. Atem and his friends, who came in different vehicles, helped unload the pickup and carry the load to the blimp. The stewards of the blimp carried the load to the located rooms for the duelists. Everyone was excited to finally be in the finals.

"Hey, need a hand?" Marik, pretending to be Namu, asked.

"Sure," Atem replied. "Thanks."

"No problem!"

Marik helped with Atem's and his friend's stuff, carrying them to the blimp. Atem saw Ryan, who surprisingly wasn't making any contact. He had a bad feeling that this wasn't _Ryan_, especially since he escaped from the hospital with a wounded arm. Atem pierced his lips with suspicion in his eyes. He hoped deeply in his heart that he was wrong and Ryan was just being an asshole.

After everyone's stuff was carried to the blimp, everyone used this time for communication. Mai also happened to make it to the blimp herself with six locator cards, just like she promised she had.

"Hey Atem! Glad to see you and your friends made it!" Mai greeted.

"Same here, Mai!" Atem replied.

"I'm glad to see we all have made it here!" Marik said in the midst of the crowd.

"You must be pretty good, Namu. Just let me warn ya, I won't go easy on ya," Joey warned Marik with a game face.

"Good, because I'd want it to be a fair duel," Marik replied.

"If you guys want to, I can show you around the blimp. I think we're allowed to go inside while we're waiting for the other two," Atem said.

"One," Seto corrected, pointing to a duelist with a long purple cloak, a dark hardened face, and cold eyes.

"Is that Marik?" Joey asked.

"He looks like Prince Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender," Tea said.

"You watch way too many cartoons," Atem replied.

"It's not a cartoon, it's an anime!"

_"Is there a difference?"_

"Anime was done in Japan."

"Avatar the Last Airbender was done in America…"

"SHUT UP!"


	24. The Final Challengers

**Here's the chapter where the blimp takes off. I'm gonna try to make it as entertaining as I can. I think the last one needed a little flavor in it. Anyways, I hope you like this one. Review please!**

Atem got out his keys and opened the door to the blimp, especially since everyone was getting anxious. Everyone entered inside after him. Since the blimp was already turned on 15 minutes ago, the air condition made the inside cool. They all seemed interested about the inside of the blimp.

Atem was glad that Seto took out all the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and other stuff that showed too much of his ego. There were statues of Duel Monsters, but it seemed lagit as far as Atem was concerned. Everyone else seemed to like it too, especially the new fountain with the Winged Dragon of Ra. Marik liked that one alot.

"Wow, I love the snack room," Tea said.

"Hey, you can even train in here!" Marik shouted excitedly, his head poked into the training room.

"_Aw yeah!_ My brother and Atem worked hard to make this place to your heart's content," Mokuba bragged.

"Translation: _Kaiba bartered some people to steal this thing_," Marik teased.

"strangely, I wouldn't be surprised," Atem agreed before the boys began laughing.

"_You're hilarious._ I'll be outside to wait for the last contestant," Seto declared with glaring eyes.

"I guess until then, we can check out our new rooms!" Joey shrugged, then everyone separated to check out their rooms.

Atem walked into his room and opened the door. The room was HUGE! There was a mini refrigerator, a small table with four chairs, a sink, two cabinets, a dresser, a double bed, a large couch, a roundish window, and blue rug with sky blue walls. This is what all the duelist rooms looked like.

The duelist plopped himself on the bed, taking a deep breath. He let Yugi take over and jump on the bed like a little immature kid. Atem didn't mind this, since he was used to Yugi's childishness behavior and this was in private. There also happened to be a personal bathroom with a tub and shower. _At least it made the girls happy._

After a while, Serenity let herself in Atem's room, since she had already checked out her brother's room. She noticed Yugi jumping on the bed and acting like a little child. Serenity chuckled as Yugi jumped from the bed, made a front flip, and landed on his feet perfectly in front of the young girl.

"Hey ya!" Yugi greeted with his huge smile.

"Looks like you're already getting settled in!" Serenity said.

"Yep! Brother is even letting me take a bath this time! _Just as long as I don't sing the rubber ducky song_," Yugi replied with a hint of disappointment. Serenity laughed at that thought. She began pitying Atem for having to put up with that.

"Hey Yugi!" Tea greeted, while coming inside the room. "This place suits you!"

"Yep, I love my new bed! It's soft!" Yugi grinned.

"How about you join us? Kaiba says the blimp's about to take off," Tea invited.

"YOU BET!" Yugi replied with excitement. He ran and grabbed Tea's wrist before turning his head toward Serenity. "Co'mon Serenity! You're gonna love it!"

Serenity followed the two lovebirds, who ran down the hall to the window where it showed the outside of the blimp. Yugi noticed his other friends, who also decided to come along. Hanaski and Duke were with the duelists, who were waiting for the blimp to take off. Yugi was excited and ran up to hug Hanaski. They both laughed like little toddlers.

Marik eyed Yugi, knowing it was the pharaoh taking over. The kid acted so pathetic, hiding behind that little innocent smile when under that was a coldblooded murderer. Everyone else seemed to think it was _cute_, except for Seto, Yami Ryou, and Odion. This made Marik sick.

Joey began worrying about Ryan. What if that wasn't really Ryan? He decided to find out!

"Yo Ryan! Are you okay?" Joey asked. Ryan turned his head with that evil look on his face.

"I'm fine. Why you ask?" Ryan asked with a more devious smirk than usual.

_"Just checking,_" Joey replied before staring out the window.

Yugi and Hanaski painted their faces against the window while Tea and Serenity laughed at the sight.

_"Hello passengers, this is your captain speaking! We are about to take off, so hold onto the railings and prepare for takeoff!"_ The captain announced and a few minutes later, the blimp lifted off the ground. Everyone grabbed a hold of the railing.

"OH YEAH! Looks like we're off, baby!" Tristan rejoiced.

"OH SNAP! Get your trading cards ready, because we're about to throw down! Everybody in the place, shuffle your deck, but make sure you don't have illegal cards or you'll be disqualified!" Marik said like some sort of rap artist.

"God cards are okay though!" Joey added to the joke, knowing where this was going.

_"I'm on a blimp! Everybody look at me, because I'm dueling on a blimp! I'm on a blimp! Take a good hard look at the mo-"_ Joey, Tristan, Duke, and Marik rapped together before being interrupted.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Tea rebuked the boys.

"I was going to say_ freakin'_ honest!" Joey defended, eying his sister, who just rolled her eyes.

"IT'S SO AWESOME!" Yugi awed in amazement.

Tea ran to Yugi's side before Yugi hugged his girlfriend with his arms around her waist. They both turned their heads and looked out the window while Yugi laid his head against Tea's chest. The blimp was so high up and it seemed so awesome to look at. Yugi was excited to be so high up in the sky. It was almost like a plane taking off.

Joey made a dirty look on his face, then teased, "you like your _nice soft pillow_?"

Yugi turned his head toward Joey and stuck out his tongue before shouting, "PERVERT!"

Tristan and Joey gawked up laughing. Even Marik had to snicker at that part. Though, he did make himself distant from Yugi. It was not time yet to make his move to defeat Yugi once and for all. These things took time and planning. Still, Joey's dirty joke was worth hearing. _The rap was fun too._

Everyone stayed by the window for a while before they all began depleting to the snack room. It eventually ended with Tea, Serenity, Yugi, and Hanaski by the window alone. They all loved watching the passing clouds.

"This is so beautiful when the sun sets," Tea said.

"I know right? I love this!" Yugi grinned, continually painting his face on the glass.

"Me too!" Hanaski agreed, also painting his face on the glass.

"We should probably join the others, right?" Tea suggested before Yugi turned his head and nodded.

The four walked together to the snack room, but not before Yugi gave Tea a deep romantic kiss.

Everyone made it to the door of the snack room and a hand blocked Hanaski, Tea, and Serenity. The three looked at Atem, who had just taken over in Yugi's place. He winked, then put Serenity's hands over her ears. Serenity blocked the hearing from her ears, despite not knowing why she had to, but had a feeling Atem was about to say something _nasty_.

Atem slammed the door wide open as if he was angry about something with a firing glare in his eyes. Everyone jumped, then stared at the angry-looking midget boy.

"The fxxx is with your hair…" Atem asked, pointing to Yugi, whom no one else could see. "Your hair…" Pointing to Ryan, who just glared. "Your hair…" Pointing to Marik, who kept his smirk. "Your hair…" Pointing to Tristan, who cocked his eyebrows. "I like you…" Pointing to Odion, pretending to be Marik, who rose two eyebrows and wondering if Atem was high. "Your hair…" Pointing to Duke, who was also wondering if Atem was high. "Your boobs…" Pointing to Mai, who deepened her glare. "Your voice…" Pointing to Tea, who gaped her mouth and seemed like she was about to punch Atem hard across the face. "Your personality…" Pointing to Seto, who just held a stoned face. "And… _eh…_ OH MY GOD!" Atem was now staring at Mokuba with widened eyes as he looked back and slowly backed up. "IT'S THE RARE POKEMON! _THE SHINY MOKUBA!_"

"NO! NO! _NO!_" Mokuba shouted before running for his life from Atem, who was chasing him with wiggly fingers.

"YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME! I'VE GOT A MASTER BALL WITH YOUR NAME ON IT!" Atem playfully replied while chasing Mokuba, then pinned him down and tickled him all over his body.

"NO! NO! _NOOOOOOO!_ HELP ME, SETO! HELP ME!"

Everyone began sighing in relief that Atem was just playing around and wasn't high or drunk or began just slapping their forehead while rolling his eyes. Odion just focused back on reading the newspaper. Marik burst out laughing at what Atem just pulled off. He could not believe Atem just did that. Serenity uncovered her ears, seeing that it was okay to do so.

"You're such a jerk, Atem!" Tea yelled.

"Yes and you can just pucker up and kiss it!" Atem smirked while slapping his butt. Marik continually laughed, enjoying Atem's combat.

"In other words, you want her to kiss your ass?" Marik asked with a devious smirk.

_"NAMU!_" Tea, Tristan, Duke, and Joey rebuked Marik.

"It's okay! He didn't know," Serenity assured.

"You can't curse in front of Serenity. She's not like the rest of us," Atem explained Marik.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Marik apologized as Serenity nodded. "Still, you're pretty bad. I like that!"

"You're kinda bad yourself, Namu."

"Hey, they have ice cream for a dollar per cone!" Joey announced to everyone, who all ran to the front of the counter, or most of them.

"You going?" Atem asked.

"I'm lactose intolerant," Marik admitted.

"Oh, that's too bad."

"What about you?"

"I would, but if I do, you're gonna see a side of me that reflects_ a hipper six-year-old_," Atem replied, glaring at Yugi, who gave a disappointing pout.

Marik chuckled, knowing _who_ Atem was talking about, then replied, "_got cha!_ So, why so careful on your speech around your girlfriend? You don't seem like the type that will just hold back out of _rights and wrongs_."

Atem narrowed his eyes with sorrow in his eyes. He replied, "I suppose it's better for you to know. You see… Serenity has… _Panic Anxiety._"

_"Shit,"_ Marik replied.

"Any type of stress or fears can cause her to hyperventilate or worse."

_"Worse?"_

"Freezing… forgetting to breathe. When she was seven, her panic was so intense, that she couldn't breathe for… I think five minutes. She was as blue as a blueberry and her Ma had to send her to the hospital."

"Son of a bitch. So even a curse word could cause her to panic like that?"

"I think some therepists have taught her to handle that kind of shit. It used to be that every curse word caused her to go into convulsions, because she was afraid someone was going to… you know… _hurt_ her," Atem worded it. He didn't want Namu to know that Serenity's Panic Anxiety was caused by her abusive father who raped, made drunk, and beat up Serenity until she was black and blue. Atem still remembered Serenity running to his house and cuddling up next to him to get away from her drunkard father.

"I've always thought _I_ was the only one with a bitch for a father. Guess I was wrong," Marik said, with a short smile, then eying Serenity. "She kinda reminds me of the female version of my sister."

"She's a sweet girl. Fragile, but sweet."

"I can tell. You made an excellent choice for a woman. You should keep her."

"You know it!"

"Say, how about we make a trade? I haven't constructed my deck yet," Marik asked.

"Of course. Though, there are curtain cards I won't trade," Atem replied with a warning.

"Same here. Let's put our untradeable cards face-down on the table?" Marik suggested, placing a few cards on the table face-down. Atem did the same.

Atem and Marik talked about what cards to trade and what not. Marik found this as an opportunity to predict most of Atem's cards. At the same time, for the first time, he felt a happiness he never felt since the time he first visited the surface from his underground home. Marik couldn't figure out what was making him feel this way, but he felt like him and Atem made some sort of _connection_. Was this what it was like with friends? That was when Marik felt something else inside him, something…_ bad._ What was this _feeling_? Marik knew it by eying Atem's look in his happy eyes. Marik felt a little, no EXTREMELY guilty. Not just for the fact that he was planning on destroying the closest person to Atem's heart, but because Marik was taking advantage of Atem and controlling him.

_'Look at me. I'm starting to grow soft,'_ Marik said to himself.


	25. Sleeping the Night Away

**OH! You're gonna love this next scene. I think you know what this one is Aqua Girl ^^! This is going to be the night before everyone goes to bed. I know this has been dragging on for a while, but hey, at least it's been only four chapters, so it shouldn't be that boring. I'm sorry if I'm boring you guys to death. I hope I kept you guys entertained while we're still going. Review please!**

Joey made a huge sigh. He was glad to get a good super before preparing for tomorrow. He had a great conversation with his pals and now was ready to prepare for battle. At least everything seemed quiet. It was like a library without someone saying_ 'shhhhhh!'_ every time someone moved their lips. _That was annoying!_

Joey entered into his room, and then took a deep breath. He was ready to prepare his deck. He walked over to the couch and pulled out his deck, but not before hearing his door burst open. Joey turned his head to find Tristan, Tea, Duke, and Hanaski at his front door.

"WHAT THE FXXX ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Joey asked infuriated.

"We're just here to check out your crib," Tristan replied.

"Besides, we don't exactly have a room of our own, so we'll be spending the night here," Tea said.

"You know, there's a think called _ASKING!_ GET THE FXXX OUT OF MY ROOM! WHY DON'T CHA BOTHER ATEM?" Joey complained.

"He needs peace and quiet to prepare for tomorrow," Tristan replied.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK _I_ NEED TO DO, YOU RETARDS? YOU CAN'T JUST BARGE IN HERE LIKE YOU OWN THE PLACE!" Joey yelled.

"YAHOO!" Hanaski cried excitedly while jumping on the bed.

"By the way, have you seen Serenity?" Joey asked.

"I think she's with Atem," Tea replied before shrugging.

"You know, I think that spells_ 'he's on a date, his room's available and he wouldn't give a crap if you barged into his room!'_" Joey complained.

"It also spells,_ 'they're fxxxing with you,'_" Marik said, on his way to his room. "Good luck with sleeping with the chickens!"

"FXXX YOU, NAMU!" Joey shouted, flipping Marik off before he gave a smirk in reply._ "I hate my life."_

* * *

><p>Serenity was guided through the hallway by Atem. He walked up the staircase, climbing up each step to the room on the other side of the door ahead of them. Serenity could feel chills in her arms as she excitedly walked up the steps. Atem dug into his pocket for a pair of keys to open the door. He placed the key into the door lock to unlock the door. A smirk crawled up his lips before he slowly turned his head.<p>

"You ready?" Atem asked in a whisper.

"Yes," Serenity replied as Atem slowly unlocked the door lock and opened the door.

Atem took Serenity's hand and led her through the door into the dueling arena on top of the blimp with a glass dome surrounding it to prevent wind currents from knocking the players off. Serenity gasped in amazement as Atem pressed a button on the main controls and slow music turned on. Serenity faced Atem with a small smile.

"I love this!" Serenity said. "Did you do this for me?"

_"Maybe,"_ Atem hinted while walking toward Serenity. He placed two hands around Serenity's waist while resting his head on the shoulder. Serenity felt intense nervousness while laying her hands on Atem's shoulders and swaying to the music.

Serenity felt her nervousness drifting away by the sound of the sweet melody playing in the background. She closed her eyes while feeling her head slide to Atem's chest while wrapping her arms around the waist. It felt so soft, like a pillow. Atem's hand continually massaged the girl's back while the other hand brushed through her silky hair. Atem never wanted to be anywhere else, but here in this very room with Serenity.

Serenity felt so moved by the music and the way her and Atem were dancing. Serenity, after a while, looked into Atem's eyes, then Atem lifted her arms and twirled her in a small circle. Serenity laughed while being twirled around. The couple then laced their fingers while closing in on each other. Serenity began humming the tune that was playing.

"I knew you'd like Taylor Swift," Atem smirked before Serenity let out a chuckle.

Atem closed his hands around Serenity's face and slowly pressed his lips against lips. Serenity swung her arms around her boyfriend's neck and returning the kiss. Atem reached to kiss her top lip as she kissed Atem's bottom one. Serenity couldn't stop herself from continually kissing those soft lips, she wanted _more_! It made her chuckle while she was still kissing.

Atem began chuckling too and they parted before he asked, "what's so funny?"

"I don't _ever_ wanna stop!" Serenity replied while laughing before her and Atem kissed once again. "You're so…" She felt heat hit her cheeks, feeling embarrassed she was feeling this way.

_"Sexy?"_

_"… yeah,"_ Serenity replied in a whisper. "I never thought I'd ever think… _or dream_ like that."

_"Hm?"_ Atem wondered with raised eyebrows.

"I had dream sex a few days ago and right now I'm…" Serenity admitted while her cheeks were heating up. Atem showed a small smile before slowly making a line of kisses from Serenity's shoulder to her neck next to her earlobe.

_"My Serena's growing up,"_ Atem whispered in Serenity's ear as the girl rose two eyebrows. _"Men, in general, love a naughty girl."_

Atem felt Serenity's body tense. He separated himself and noticed Serenity seemingly frozen in shock. Fear flowed through Atem._ 'Did I say too much?'_

"It's okay Serenity, I was just playing!" Atem said as Serenity showed a smirk and began laughing. "_Hey!_ You tricked me, you little squirt!"

Serenity began laughing even louder and replied, "I couldn't resist. I just had to see the look on your face."

"Okay, you got me," Atem said, rolling his eyes, before kissing Serenity's soft lips once more. "It's getting late. I have to set up my deck."

"May I join you?"

"Sure sweet thing."

Atem turned off the music, then exited out of the Dueling Room before locking it. Him and Serenity walked down the steps and through the hallway to Atem's room. It was so quiet and perfect for setting up a deck. Atem laid his deck on the table and spread it out. He also got out his other cards and began sorting out his deck to figure out which monsters, spells, and traps to place in.

Serenity watched how Atem arranged his deck. She was interested in the different monsters there were. Some of them looked intense and scary and some looked really cute. Serenity picked up a Dark Magician Girl and looked at it before Atem turned his head.

"Dark Magician Girl. She looks cute!" Serenity said, then reading the card description. "_This card gains 300_… uh… what's ATK stand for?"

"Attack," Atem replied. "Dark Magician Girl gains 300 attack for each Dark Magician or Magician of Black Chaos in either graveyard."

"Wow."

"She's also my soul card. Every duelist has one in particular… _or at least most._"

"What's a soul card?"

"It's hard to explain, but it's the one monster a duelist has a curtain special _bond_ with."

"You like her, because she's _revealing_," Serenity teased before Atem turned his head and stuck out his tongue before continuing setting up his deck. Serenity then noticed a black dragon on the table. She picked it up. "Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Is this related to Blue-Eyes White Dragon?"

"Sorta. It belongs to your brother. He's letting me borrow it for a while."

"Really? That's nice of him! You should put that in your deck!"

"You know it!" Atem winked before putting Red-Eyes Black Dragon in his deck. "What I'm really wondering is about putting Slifer in my deck."

_"Hm?"_ Serenity responded, then read the description on Slifer the Sky Dragon. "This is very powerful. Wow… 1000 times the number of cards in your hand? That's beast!"

"It is…" Atem agreed before turning to Yugi, who nodded. "Yugi says I should put this in my deck."

Atem put Slifer the Sky Dragon in his deck before shuffling it He then counted his cards, spells, traps, and monsters to be sure it was balanced. Serenity rose two eyebrows while watching her boyfriend count his cards, then shuffling them again. Atem placed down his deck, then got up from his chair before putting his arms around Serenity and kissing her passionately.

The two instantly fell on the bed while laughing their heads off. Atem rolled off of Serenity before kicking his shoes off and lying on the bed facing up. Serenity lied on the bed next to Atem with a small smile across her lips. Atem turned his head to face Serenity before they gave each other smiles. Serenity scooted herself closer to Atem, lying her head on his chest. At the same time, Yugi's spirit was on Atem's other side, snuggling under Atem's arm.

Atem chuckled, then placing a kiss on top of both Yugi's and Serenity's heads, then saying, "My two favorite people. Both love and adore with all my heart."

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Serenity blushed before her and Yugi placed a kiss on either side of Atem's cheek.

Yugi made a quiet moan while slowly closing his eyes. He loved being next to his brother, even with Serenity joining in. Atem loved both Yugi and Serenity. They both were wonderful and beautiful in his eyes in different ways. This moment was one for Atem to take all in and know that they were here… _with him._

The door opened and Atem and Serenity poked their heads out to see Joey appearing, seemingly aggravated.

"Joey?" Atem questioned.

"Mind if I set up my deck here, my room just got crashed!" Joey complained.

"_Shoot!_ Of course you can stay! I've already finished my deck!" Atem replied, not preventing a slight chuckle at the fact that his friends were taking over Joey's room.

"Thanks alot man!"

Joey spread out his deck of cards and began arranging his deck. Serenity continually rested, using Atem's chest as a pillow. She was completely sound asleep. Atem loved the way Serenity slept. She was like a quiet little bunny when she slept. Atem could not help, but smile and watch as his beauty sleep away.

"Guess someone dozed off," Joey smirked as Atem let out a chuckle. He carefully carried Serenity bridal style and slowly laid her on the couch to sleep.

"Is your deck set?" Atem asked.

"Set and ready to go. Thanks alot man."

"What are friends for?" Atem asked rhetorically.

Joey looked at the clock, which read 12:27. He said, "wow, it's late. We must've really hit an all-nighter."

"Yeah," Atem chuckled before yawning. "We best be heading for bed."

"Good point," Joey agreed while letting out a chuckle. Him and Atem dressed into their nightgown before they turned off the lights and laid on the double bed.

"Joey, if you snore, I will kick your ass," Atem warned Joey, who rolled his eyes.

"Goodnight buddy."

Unfortunately, Joey couldn't sleep _at all_ at night due to Atem's constant talking in his sleep. There were times like these when he wished he bought ear plugs. He was going to have to remind himself to buy Serenity some on her wedding day before her honeymoon, if that day would ever come.

_"No Seto, it's not fair for the kids!"_ Atem blurted out aloud in his sleep, which was aggravating Joey alot.

"Why can't you just sleep?" Joey muttered, seeing 1:00 on the clock. _"I hate my life."_

_"Yugi, please don't go away,"_ Atem whined in his sleep before turning and making it seem like he was floating on the bed. _"Let me keep you."_

"What the hell?" Joey muttered, noticing that Atem seemed to look like he was floating, then noticed his arms wrapped around whatever he was floating on._ Was that Yugi?_

_"Yugi. Yugi,"_ Atem moaned while nuzzling his face in this invisible person.

"Yugi… if you're awake, could you get Atem to _shut the hell up?_" Joey asked grouchily before he noticed Atem changing to Yugi, who was half asleep and lying on his back. "Thanks."

_"Sorry,"_ Yugi muttered before drifting off to sleep. Joey was finally able to get some sleep. Compared to Atem, Yugi was _quieter_ when he slept. Though, the idea that Atem and Yugi _snuggle_ in their sleep was kinda weird. Joey decided to save that for blackmail later.


	26. First Round Opponents

**Okay, now it's time to get back to Battle City. No need to stop for anything. Everyone's had their break and now it's time to duel on the blimp. Yes, you can rap to the littekuriboh song while reading this duel. Of course, the duel will be on the next chapter, because there's still the BINGO selection. Lol bingo selection. Okay, here it is! Review please!**

Serenity woke up the next morning and made coffee. There was a coffee maker inside the room just like a hotel room. The smell of coffee woke up Joey and Yugi. Yugi moaned as Joey stretched his arms and got up out of bed, rubbing his eyes.

"Morning boys!" Serenity greeted.

_"Morning Serenity!"_ Yugi greeted, still lying on the bed, his hand seemingly around something invisible above his stomach.

"Aren't you getting up?" Joey asked.

"Brother's still sleeping and I don't want to wake him up from his dream," Yugi replied with a small smile.

"What's he dreaming about?"

"It's kinda weird. He's dreaming about climbing up a skyscraper to look for a bag of monkeys, so he could pull the ultimate prank on Ryan."

Serenity covered her mouth to prevent herself from bursting into laughter. It just seemed so random to dream about something like that. Then again, dreams usually are _random_. Rarely do dreams ever end up being normal. What Serenity always noticed is the fact that most of the time, a person dreams in third person. As in they can watch themselves going somewhere or doing something. Yet, the person never knows it's_ just a dream_.

Yugi smiled while constantly stroking Atem's hair. Serenity smiled while walking to the edge of the bed. Yugi chuckled, then changed to Atem who was fast asleep on his front side and muttering nonsense.

_"Monkeys are at the very top, Joey,"_ Atem muttered. Serenity stroked Atem's hair. It felt so soft and thick, it was a surprised it stuck up in the air as natural spikes. Most would think that Atem had wired hair, but he had soft hair.

"He kept talking nonsense last night. I don't know how Yugi's able to sleep through that. I don't know how _you_ slept through that," Joey complained.

"His voice is like the voice of an angel," Serenity replied softly.

"_Of course._ It's your hormones that put you to sleep."

"Shut up, Joey," Serenity smirked before taking a rolled up magazine and whacking Joey across the head with it.

"Hey, hey, take it easy, sis! We're not ten anymore."

Joey and Serenity heard Atem moaning. He seemed to be kissing something invisible before stretching his arms and letting out a yawn.

"Sorry, did we wake you up?" Serenity apologized.

_"No, the smell of my victory in Battle City woke me up,"_ Atem replied before hearing the two chuckle.

"Well, now that Atem's up…" Serenity said before knocking Joey on the head with the rolled up magazine.

"Hey! Hey! I didn't say you could do that!_ Ow! Ow!_" Joey played, trying to protect himself from his sister's attacks. _"Atem, your girlfriend's abusing me!"_

"Really?" Atem smirked before grabbing Joey from under the arms and dragging him on the floor.

"_HEEEEEEEEY!_ YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ON MY SIDE!" Joey complained in a playful manner. He tried fighting himself out of Atem's grasp, but Atem's arms were too strong.

"SERENA, OPEN THE WINDOW!" Atem told Serenity, who opened the window of the blimp.

"DON'T YOU DARE! DON'T YOU DARE!" Joey shouted before finding himself being drug toward the window to be pushed out. "NO! NO! YOU GUYS ARE MEAN!"

"Bye bye, Joey, we'll miss ya," Atem teased while pushing Joey's front body through the tiny window. Serenity was helping. Joey used his arms to prevent any part of his body from being forced out the window.

"YOU GUYS ARE SO UNFAIR!" Joey shouted while Atem and Serenity were trying hard to push the poor blond duelist out the window. _"I SHALL NOT BE DEFEATED!"_ Atem and Serenity laughed their guts out while trying to push Joey through the window. He used his arms to prevent this body from showing itself outside of the blimp.

Tristan and Duke opened the door and their eyes widened as they saw Atem and Serenity attempting to push Joey out the window and laughing in the process. Joey kept pushing himself from the window until he fell on the floor on top of Atem and Serenity. The three of them laughed their heads off.

"You guys are evil, you know that?" Joey smirked as Atem and Serenity laughed harder.

"What the heck were you guys trying to do?" Duke asked, slightly laughing at what was going on.

"These two jerks were trying to send me flying out the window!" Joey complained playfully while pointing at Atem and Serenity, who were still laughing.

"_Really?_ I should've thought about that when I first stepped into the blimp," Duke teased before him and Tristan started laughing.

_"Oh ha ha ha, you guys are such great friends,"_ Joey said sarcastically while rolling his eyes.

"Anyways, they have breakfast in the dining room. Their bacon is out of this world!" Tristan informed.

"Sweet! Might as well get some grub before we head out," Atem said before helping Serenity off the floor and heading out the door.

Atem and Serenity entered the dining room and ate breakfast. At the front of the room was a Blue-Eyes Ultimate White Dragon lottery powerball machine. Duke couldn't help, but snicker at the dragon-looking powerball machine. He looked at Atem's direction, pointing his thumb at the powerball machine.

"Trust me, this blimp was _filled_ with his ego when I first checked. That was the only one I let him keep," Atem explained.

_"Really?"_ Duke asked like he wasn't taking Atem seriously.

"Yep, you'll see why," Atem replied before Seto's two employers working for Battle City appeared on each side of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Powerball Machine.

"Welcome Duelists, to the Battle City final eight! We hope you enjoyed your breakfast, because it's time to choose which duelist will be selected! Each Duelist are numbered based on who came first! Namu Marang is number 1, Marik Ishtar is number 2, Seto Kaiba is number 3, Joey Wheeler is number 4, Atem Moto is number 5, Mai Valentine is number 6, Ryan Bakura is number 7, and… _Ish… u… uh…_" One of the employers announced, trying to pronounce the name of the last contestant.

Atem sighed, then walked up to the employer, reading the list. His eyes widened, then muttered, "Ishizu Ishtar? _Son of a bitch._" He looked up to everyone. _"Ishizu Ishtar. I'm sure it's _nothing_ related to Marik Ishtar!"_

"_Uh… right…_ Ishizu Ishtar is number 8!" The employer announced. _"Should we tell her? She isn't here."_

"Doesn't need to be. That bitch has a way of _knowing things_," Atem assured in a whisper before rejoining his friends. "Well, this is great, maybe Seto Kaiba could be my long lost cousin!_ That would take the cake!_"

"You know this _Ishizu_?" Hanaski asked.

"She's the woman Seto and I met at the museum. She gave him Obelisk the Tormentor," Atem replied.

"Dang," Serenity responded.

The balls inside the Powerball Machine began flying and zigzagging everywhere until two of them landed inside the mouth of the middle head of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. They both slide inside each mouth of the other heads of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Duke kept his eyes furrowed, then looked at Atem.

"Don't see how this is _amusing_, besides the size of Kaiba's ego," Duke said, then the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon made a puff of smoke from behind it with a farting sound. Everyone snickered at that site. _"You ridged it didn't ya?"_

"Might as well entertain myself with a little prank," Atem smirked.

"The numbers chosen are…" The employer announced, reading the numbers on the balls. "7 and 5!"

"That's me and Ryan," Atem said, turning his head toward Ryan. He gave a thumbs up with a smirk up his lips.

"I'm worried about Ryan," Hanaski said.

"Same here. In fact, I don't think that's even _Ryan_."

"I doubt it too. It's not even Ryou either. I have a bad feeling that that evil spirit's taken over Ryou again," Joey thought.

_"Evil spirit?"_ Serenity questioned.

"You know how I have Yugi as a spirit from the millennium puzzle?" Atem asked as Serenity nodded. He turned and faced Ryan. "Ryan's no different. His spirit is from a millennium item too, the millennium ring. Only Ryou has some sort of evil _whatever_ inside his soul room, his mind. Once and a while, that _thing_ takes over him and… let's just say_ it's not pretty._"

"That's not good," Duke thought. "What are you planning on doing?"

"What else? I'm gonna have to duel Ryan's evil side, which will most likely turn into a Shadow Game. It worked last time, it'll work again," Atem replied.

"How is a Shadow Game gonna work for Duel Monsters?" Joey asked.

"It can differ. When I dueled Pegasus, my spiritual energy was used to summon monsters. Though, Pegasus was a good person at heart and his only intention was to resurrect his dead wife. Ryan's evil side won't hold back. He'll do whatever it takes to make sure Yugi and I are deader than dead. This Battle City might turn into an actual battle if it turns into a Shadow Game," Atem replied as everyone showed dumbfounded looks.

"Will the two duelists please enter the dueling stage?" The Employer announced.

Atem watched Ryan leave the diner as he grabbed his balanced deck and followed his possessed friend. Serenity grabbed her boyfriend by the shoulder, turned him, and kissed him on the lips. Atem wrapped his arms around Serenity before their kiss was finished and he showed a small smile. Tristan furrowed his eyebrows with a disappointed look. In his mind, it was just too bad that Atem really could _beat the crap out of him_.

"Good luck! I'll be watching!" Serenity winked as Atem nodded, then walked toward the dueling stage.

Atem walked up the stairs behind Ryan. They both walked in the middle of the stage to shuffle each other's decks. The others arrived at the side to watch the duel commence. Ryan showed a dark smirk that sent chills down Atem's spine. He knew this wasn't Ryan. The cast around Ryan's arm and the blood mark was too obvious. How else was he able to stand the pain? _  
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_"Duelists, get your decks ready and shuffled!"_ The employer declared.

"Before we start! I know you're not Ryan! You haven't been talking to us all day and you usually let Ryou out! Not to mention the real Ryan I know gives us crap!" Atem said as Yami Ryou made a dark evil chuckle.

"I suppose the beans have finally been spilt. I've been waiting to play a shadow game anyways! I hope the pharaoh's ready!" Yami Ryou smirked, him and Atem giving back their decks.

"_I'll_ duel you! You have no god card and nobody messes with my friends and lives to tell the tale! I'm sending you straight to hell and back!" Atem promised while shoving his deck into his duel disk.

"Well, then we might as well be in hell! I'll be hosting this shadow game, Atem!" Yami Ryou declared as his millennium ring glowed with brilliance. "In this game, our monsters will be real! I'd normally have the monsters summoned using our spiritual energies, but my host doesn't have enough and will faint by the second I summon a monster! Our millennium items will give our monsters their energies! They won't be as real as I'd like for them to be, but it'll be enough to harm the opposing player when the monster attacks directly!"

"That's good enough for me! Now let's duel!"

"Let the duel begin!" The employer declared.

"Oh yeah, shit just got real up in this bitch!" Atem smirked before him and Ryan walked to their dueling positions across from each other.

It was a good thing him and Yami Ryou were shuffling their decks, they could talk quietly and Serenity wouldn't have to hear their fowl language. From now on, Atem knew he was going to have to hold his tongue while dueling his friend back.


	27. The Thing in the Dark

**Now, back to the duels, only this time they'll be Shadow Games. Let me warn you guys, these duels will get more dangerous as they pass by. They ain't gonna be pretty. Hey, at least you guys won't be bored out of your mind! I mean seriously, the duels can get boring after a while. Review please!**

Yami Ryou and Atem walked on the opposite sides of the stage. After getting into their positions, they turned on their duel disks and took out five cards. Everyone stood on the sidelines to watch the duel. They were clueless about the fact that their friend was possessed again, though Joey, Tea, and Tristan were suspicious about that.

Atem peered at his hand while looking at Yami Ryou's direction. The last time he was against this guy, he was sealed into his role-playing avatar doll. It was time to see what Yami Ryou's skills as a duelist were like. Atem was very interested to see what Yami Ryou had in store for him.

"I play Portrait's Secret in attack mode!" Yami Ryou declared as a large portrait with a head sticking out of it appeared on the field. "I end!"

"I play Baphomet in attack mode and destroy your monster!" Atem said as Baphomet appeared on the field and clawed through Portrait's Secret, leaving Yami Ryou with 3800 life points remaining. "Then I fold one card and end my turn!"

"I play Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams in attack mode and end my turn!"

Atem narrowed his eyes, focusing them on the monster. Its attack points were lower than Baphmet's, why would Yami Ryou play this in attack mode? He seemed to be planning something, but Atem didn't know what. He decided to go along with this until he could figure out Yami Ryou's strategy.

"I play Gamma the Magnet Warrior and he destroys your Ghost!" Atem played as Gamma the Magnet Warrior appeared on the field and attacked The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams, wiping it from the field. "Then, Baphomet attacks directly!" Baphomet clawed right through Yami Ryou, leaving him with 2200 life points remaining. "Turn end!"

"I play Headless Knight in attack mode! Your turn!"

Atem couldn't figure out what Yami Ryou's strategy could possibly be. The evil spirit just kept summoning weak monsters to the field and having them go to the graveyard. What was he up to? What was his motives?

_"Something's up!"_ Yugi thought, narrowing his eyes.

_'That's what I was thinking! I'm just gonna have to keep playing along until I figure out what his motives are,'_ Atem replied before drawing his card. "Magnet Warrior attacks and Baphomet attacks directly!" Gamma the Magnet Warrior destroyed Headless Knight, then Baphomet attacked Yami Ryou directly, leaving him with 750 life points remaining.

"GO ATEM!" Joey cheered loudly. "KICK HIS ASS!"

"Question, why is Ryan letting Atem toast him like that? I mean he's already got three monsters destroyed and he hasn't placed any traps or spells on the field! Something's up," Tristan wondered.

_"Wow, did you actually say something smart for once?"_ Duke asked teasingly.

"SHUT UP!"

"But he's right. Why would Ryan let Atem toast him like that?" Tea wondered.

"Maybe it's part of his strategy," Hanaski thought.

"I want to thank you for destroying my monsters. I banish three fiend monsters from my graveyard to special summon Dark Necrofear to the field!" Yami Ryou declared with a sickly smirk up his lips. A blue bald alien-like monster appeared on the field holding a broken doll.

_"Hey look, it's an alien, just like the one that abducted me when I was a child!"_ Atem mocked with a slim smirk.

Seto slapped his forehead with his palm. His glare deepened, staring at the camera that was airing the duel. _Of course Atem would make stupid jokes! It was perfect when he knows he's on_ live television_!_ Now Seto wished that he hadn't mentioned that notion.

"It looks like a killer Avatar doll," Marik smirked as Yami Ryou growled at him for that insult.

"I'll place one card face-down and end my turn! I will show you the true fear of my occult deck!" Yami Ryou glared with terror.

_"Whatever,"_ Atem replied, rolling his eyes. "I sacrifice Baphomet to bring out Dark Magician Girl!"

_"It was about time!"_ Mana said after finally appearing on the field. _"I was getting bored the longer you were keeping me in your hand!"_

"Sorry, I just wanted to wait for the right time and I'm dying to see a chick fight," Atem replied, not caring if anybody looked at him funny or not about the fact that he was talking to Dark Magician Girl.

"You think you can beat me with that little _whore_ on the field?" Yami Ryou smirked as Dark Magician Girl narrowed her eyes even deeper.

"I still have my face-down!" Atem said, revealing his folded card as Magic Formula. "Magic Formula increases Dark Magician Girl's attack by 500 points!"

"Oh f***!"

"HEY! WATCH THE LANGUAGE!" Joey yelled, eying his sister, before Yami Ryou flipped him off. He looked at Atem's direction, who shook his head, lipping, _'it's not Ryan!'_ "Holy cow! I knew it! That's not Ryan, his evil spirit is back!"

"Not good!" Tristan responded.

"What's gonna happen?" Serenity asked Joey fearfully.

"I'm not sure, but I think they're playing a Shadow Game. Hopefully, if Atem wins, he can get Ryan back to his normal self. He did it before and he can do it again," Joey promised.

"Dark Magician Girl attacks Dark Necrofear!" Atem declared as Dark Magician Girl waved her wand and sent a huge dark blast at Dark Necrofear, wiping her from the field. Yami Ryou was left with 450 life points. A dark laugh escaped from his lips. "Thanks for destroying my monster, now I can activate my field spell!"

"Wait what?" Duke responded.

Yami Ryou activated a card from his hand to the field spell slot and the whole background turned into a red sky filled with eyeballs. He said, "I activate Dark Sancuary, a dark and horrorfilled environment where only the bravest souls dare to venture!"

_"An anime convention?"_ Atem smirked jokingly, not taking the duel seriously.

"_NO!_ Here the damned roam freely and every second is like living in a wide awake nightmare!"

"Still sounds like an anime convention."

"You know, you should know when to make your jokes, especially when you're playing a Shadow Game!"

"Sorry, just thought I'd brighten up this subject before I kick your ass," Atem smirked on his combat as Yami Ryou glared with irritation and frustration.

"Wow, even in Hell, everyone stares at the hotness that is Duke Devilin," Duke commented. Everyone sighed while rolling their eyes, except for Serenity who was slightly worried about her boyfriend, after hearing about the Shadow Games and how dangerous they were.

"I attack you directly with Magnet Warrior!" Atem declared before a ghost appeared through Gamma the Magnet Warrior and hit him straight on. Atem, for a second, could feel his breath stop as his life points dropped to 3250. It felt as if some sort of creature tried to kill him from the inside out, leaving him a horrible pain in his chest. _"Oh shit,"_ he muttered before dropping on his knees and coughing his breath back.

"Atem, you alright, buddy?" Joey asked from below the stage.

_"I'm good!"_ Atem replied, wiping the saliva from his mouth and to his horror, he found something red… _blood!_

"Well, looks like you just got a _taste_ of my field spell! I can choose which monster on your field is possessed by the monsters in my graveyard and if you choose that monster to attack, it absorbs your life and giving it to me!" Yami Ryou explained as Atem saw his opponent's life points rise 1200. "Not only that, but you activated my trap!"

"Oh crud," Atem muttered as Yami Ryou activated his trap card Destiny Board. An Ouija Board appeared with Dark Necrofear controlling the panchetta and what letter it shows.

"Ouija Boards were once used to communicate with spirits. Dark Necrofear will send you a message from beyond the grave."

"What cha gonna do, ask Seto's fangirls to come kick my butt?"

"Atem, I don't think now is a good time to be joking around!" Tea cried out from the sidelines.

"I can joke whenever I want to!" Atem glared at Tea before getting up on his feet. A smirk appeared on his lips. "Besides, I want to see what this monster can do!"

Dark Necrofear moved the planchette to the letter D and the letter appeared hovering on Yami Ryou's side of the field. Atem kept his eyebrows furrowed, figuring out what this trap card could do. _What was the letter D supposed to mean?_ It had to mean something or it wouldn't have been put there… _or made._

"D has appeared on the field, as in D-E-A-T-H! After all five letters are spelled out, I will instantly win this game no matter what! You are only four turns away from being eliminated!" Yami Ryou smirked widely.

"Not good! Not good at all!" Joey responded.

"I'm sure Atem will think of something. He usually does," Hanaski thought with confidence.

"But how long can he last?" Tea wondered.

"CO'MON ATEM! YOU CAN DO IT!" Hanaski cried aloud as Atem turned to his friends and gave a nod.

"I'm not done yet, it's still my turn! I play The Dark Door! This makes it to where you can only attack one monster on your turn!" Yami Ryou declared as Atem kept his eyes furrowed and focused on the field. "I also play Earthbound Spirit in defense mode, then end my turn!"

A monster crawled up from the ground in a defense position on Yami Ryou's field. Atem draw his next card, trying to think of a plan to get rid of Yami Ryou's Destiny Board. He only had a mere few turns until the word DEATH was spelled and he would lose the game. There had to be a way to get rid of that trap!

"I play Kuriboh on the field!" Atem declared. "Then I attack with Dark Magician Girl!"

_"Wait!"_ Mana tried to warn Atem before some sort of ghost fazed through her and attacked her master.

Atem gasped, trying to catch his breath, which stopped for a few seconds. He began coughing again, this time feeling a slight headache. Serenity ran to the side of the stage with worry written on her face. She couldn't take her boyfriend being tortured like this!

"Atem, what's wrong!" Serenity cried as Atem looked at her, catching his breath.

_"I'm fine!"_ Atem lied. Serenity eyed at Atem's hand where his mouth was at. She could see a trickle of blood.

"OH MY GOD!" Serenity screamed, clasping her mouth as Atem tried to hide the evidence in his hand. _"OH MY GOD!"_

"SERENITY, CALM DOWN! IT'S OKAY!"

"Serenity, what's wrong?" Joey asked worriedly.

"Atem's coughing blood!" Serenity cried, tears pouring from her eyes. Her body was shaking nonstop and she began sweating and panting.

"Oh my god! I'm taking Serenity back inside!" Joey said, fear inside his heart.

"No! Let me stay!" Serenity begged fighting her way out of her brother's grasp. She stood next to Tea, holding her arm with a tight grip.

"Are you okay?" Tea asked.

Marik watched Serenity freak out over what was happening in the Shadow Game. He felt horribly guilty, knowing that this was partly his fault. He knew what it was like to be afraid. Marik walked to the girl and slowly massaged her shoulders.

_"Take a deep breath,"_ Marik advised Serenity and that's what she did. "It's okay. You want to leave?"

"_No…_ I-I'll stay," Serenity declared, letting go of Tea's arm and watching the duel.

Atem smiled at Marik and lipped,_ 'thank you'_ before getting up on his feet and checking his life points, which were 2000. Yami Ryou's life points now were 2450. Yami Ryou chuckled oh so darkly at the sight, not caring what was happening to everyone else.

"With Dark Sanctuary in play, the ghosts of my graveyard can choose its next victim to possess. Oh, and I almost forgot…" Yami Ryou smirked as the letter E appeared next to D. Atem glared with intense eyes. "You've got no chance, Atem!"

_"We'll see about that,"_ Atem said, seemingly out of breath.


	28. Unbreakable Spirit

**Here's the next chapter to this fun little duel. The shadow games here, as you've probably noticed by now, are gonna be a little more violent than the anime and manga version combined. It's because I want Joey to be in a coma and the only explanation is him being hurt and no blood. I mean if Mai was bleeding in her duel, why not the others. So yeah, this is gonna get more bloody. Review please!**

Atem scanned the field. He knew because of Dark Door, he could only choose one monster to attack Yami Ryou's monsters. Though, there was a 1/3rd chance that he could choose a monster Yami Ryou chose for his spirits to possess. Choosing any of his monsters to attack would be a gamble. Would he be willing to take that chance?

Atem knew that Yami Ryou didn't possess Kuriboh, since it was not an offensive monster, so it was rather Dark Magician Girl or Gamma the Magnet Warrior. Which one could it be? That's when Atem remembered something: _Dark Magician Girl was his soul card!_

"Mana, are you possessed?" Atem asked his soul monster.

_"I can feel something inside me, so don't choose me!"_ Mana replied as Atem showed a sly smirk up his lips.

"Gamma attacks!" Atem declared as Gamma the Magnet Warrior flew toward Yami Ryou's monster for an attack.

"Then I reveal my trap card, Dark Spirit of the Silent!" Yami Ryou countered. "This stops Gamma's attack and has another one of your other monsters attack instead!"

_"Oh shit!"_ Atem responded in a whisper before the ghost appeared from Dark Magician Girl and attacked him directly. He lost his breath and began coughing while his life points dropped to 750.

"And for each hit you take, I get stronger!" Yami Ryou smirked evilly as his life points rose to 3700.

Atem coughed more blood into his hand while on his one hand and two knees. He felt very dizzy, trying to blink the blurs away from his vision. Atem was trying to take a deep breath and relax. His loss of blood was making him dizzy and he knew it.

_"ATEM!"_ Serenity cried aloud, gripping two hands on the edge of the stage.

"No interfering the duel!" One of the employers shouted.

"Relax, it's just his squeeze. She's not gonna interfere anything," Seto reassured his employer before a smirk grew in his lips. "Besides, I think we're gonna need a clinic after this. It's better if someone was nearby to take someone in."

_"Y-Yes sir."_

Atem finally gained back his vision before climbing on his own two feet. He gave Serenity an assuring smile and a thumbs up. Serenity nodded, still feeling slightly scared. Atem glanced over to Joey and he nodded, getting what his friend was trying to tell him. Joey walked next to Serenity to be sure that she was calm.

"Well, now that your girlfriend is feeling better, time to reveal the next letter to my message!" Yami Ryou smirked before a letter A appeared next to E. Two more letters and Atem knew the game would be over and he'd lose.

"CO'MON ATEM, YOU CAN DO IT!" Mokuba cheered loudly.

"That's right, Atem! Don't let this jerk get to ya!" Duke cried aloud.

Serenity narrowed her eyes and looked up at her boyfriend, who seemed to be having more fighting spirit. She cried, "ATEM!" Atem looked over at his girlfriend, who seemed to have grown less afraid. "KICK HIS ASS!"

Everyone else jumped aback. Serenity rarely never cursed and this was the first time everyone's heard it.

Atem showed a smirk, then made a slight chuckle. He faced Yami Ryou with an intense glare and ready to continue on the duel. Atem peered at his hand, trying to think of a plan to stop Destiny Board. There had to be a way, but what? That's when it hit him!

"I play two face-downs and end my turn!" Atem declared with determination written on his face.

"Not giving up eh?" Yami Ryou asked with his sly smirk.

"I fight till the bitter end! I'm not one of those sore losers who just surrenders, so I wouldn't lose a duel!"

"Very well. I also end my turn and here comes another letter!" Yami Ryou smirked as a letter T appeared next to A. "Still not giving up?"

"Nope and you better say your prayers, because I'm taking you out in two turns!"

"YOU LIE!"

_"ALRIGHT!"_ Mokuba cheered aloud while jumping in the air.

"As expected from the King of Games," Seto smirked proudly.

"First, I'll play Monster Recovery and return all my monsters to my hand!" Atem declared as his monsters disappeared from the field and ended up in his hand. "Then I shuffle them in my deck!" He placed the cards in his hand into his deck and shuffled it before drawing five new cards. "Now, I place Kuriboh in attack mode! Now, there's only one monster your spirits can possess!" Kuriboh appeared on the field in attack mode. "And since he's in attack mode, that activates your Dark Spirit of the Silent!" A ghostly spirit appeared from Yami Ryou's trap card and possessed Kuriboh. "Now, I activate my trap card, Chain Destruction, which destroys Kuriboh and taking your annoying spirits from your graveyard with it, so Dark Sanctuary is useless as far as I'm concerned!"

"WHAT?" Yami Ryou gasped before watching Kuriboh explode from the field due to the effect of Chain Destruction. He glared intensely with sweat pouring from his face. "So what? You still have one turn left before you're finished!"

"One turn is all I need!" Atem smirked with pure confidence.

Yami Ryou glared at the field, trying to figure out how Atem plans on defeating him. He heard a chuckle in the back of his mind, knowing _who_ it was coming from. There, he saw Marik's spirit inside Ryan's soul room. A dark smirk was painted on this Egyptian's face and his millennium rod was clamped tightly around his fingers.

_"Seems you're not as brave as you make yourself out to be eh?"_ Marik asked mockingly.

_'I told you to let _me_ handle this son of a bitch!'_ Yami Ryou yelled.

_"You also broke a record for scaring a young girl half to death. Anyways, it seems that Atem has figured out the weak point to your Destiny Board. As long as your Dark Necrofear is in your graveyard, Destiny Board will continue to play, but if it's awaken from the graveyard..."_

_'That son of a bitch is planning on playing Monster Reborn!'_

_"Ding ding ding, we have a winner!"_

_'Well, I'm not letting that happen anytime soon!'_ Yami Ryou shouted in his mind before drawing his next card. "MY TURN!" He peered at the card he drew, then a laugh escaped from his lips. "YOU'RE DONE FOR, ATEM! I sacrifice Earthbound Spirit to summon out Earl of Demise!" Earthbound Spirit disappeared from the field and replaced with Earl of Demise. "Earl of Demise attacks you directly!" Earl of Demise ran for Atem until...

"I reveal my spell card Monster Reborn to bring back your Dark Necrofear!" Atem declared as he revealed his face-down card and brought Dark Necrofear on his side of the field. Yami Ryou's Destiny Board disappeared from the field, since Dark Necrofear was no longer in the graveyard. Earl of Demise attacked Dark Necrofear and was wiped from the field, leaving Yami Ryou with 3500 life points remaining. "You're done for!"

_"Is that right?"_ Yami Ryou asked with a smirk up his lips. "I play my spell card Deja Vu! This returns all our monsters back to the field or graveyard last turn ago!" Atem gasped as he watched Dark Necrofear disappeared and being replaced with Dark Magician Girl, Kuriboh, and Gamma the Magnet Warrior. Yami Ryou's monster also returned, including Destiny Board with the letters D,E,A, and T. "Looks like all your efforts were wasted!"

"YOU SICK SCUM FROM THE PITS OF THE EARTH!" Joey shouted as everyone stared at him as if he was smoking something. _"WHAT?"_

"Looks like you will lose on your next turn! So much for your efforts!" Yami Ryou said with a huge smirk up his lips.

"Don't give up, man!" Tristan cheered.

"You can do it!" Serenity cheered, still gripping on the edge of the stage.

Atem looked at the cards in his hand. He didn't have anything to turn the duel around. His only hope was to draw his next card. Yugi's spirit appeared next to Atem and placed his hand on top of his brother's that touched the top of his deck. Atem looked into Yugi's eyes and showed a small confident smile. They both drew the next and final card.

_"My move!"_ Atem cried aloud while drawing his next card. He peered at his card and got _exactly_ what he wanted. A smirk appeared on his lips, then glanced at his field. "I sacrifice Dark Magician Girl, Kuriboh, and Gamma to summon out Slifer the Sky Dragon!"

_"Holy shit,"_ Tristan muttered, making it to where Serenity didn't hear him.

_"Looks like Atem's about to shit up this joint,"_ Seto said to himself with a huge smirk up his lips.

"Sweet!" Mokuba responded.

Slifer the Sky Dragon appeared on the field as a huge red laviathan with two mouths. It was enormous and seemed so real, and it was due to the Shadow Game. Yugi stood on the field, staring at the dragon with an awe expression. The sky dragon glanced at Yugi's spirited form, _knowing_ its master. Yugi began remembering a small memory of this beast. He had once touched this dragon, pet it, as if it was a friend.

Yami Ryou glared at the dragon, who was staring him down. Marik began laughing inside the mind of the evil spirit of the ring. He seemed to be enjoying Yami Ryou's suffering.

_"Looks like Atem really f***ed you up!"_ Marik laughed.

_'Did I ask for your opinion?'_ Yami Ryou yelled angrily.

_"I'm just saying. Atem has four cards in his hand, making Slifer's attack points 4000. You have no monsters to shield you from a blow-out attack. What are you gonna do?"_

_'I would use Dark Sanctuary, but spell cards don't work on Slifer. _I have an idea!_'_

"Slifer..." Atem was about to announce before he was cut off.

"Before you try anything, Atem, remember that this is _a Shadow Game_. I can also control when or when not my host can be freed or not," Yami Ryou reminded Atem, who seemed confused._ "Confused?"_ Suddenly, Yami Ryou's expression changed and he dropped on his knees, grabbing his wounded arm and crying in pain.

_"AH!"_ Ryan wailed in pain, then glancing around the field. _"Where the hell am I?"_

"Ryan, is that you?" Atem asked as Ryan gasped, seeing Slifer the Sky Dragon, who was not just a hologram this time.

_"SON OF A BITCH!"_ Ryan screamed, sweat pouring from his face.

"What's going on?" Marik asked, acting confused.

"Ryan's back to normal and he's hurt!" Joey cried aloud while running to the stage.

"No one is allowed on the duel stage while a duel is still commencing!" The employer shouted.

"But Ryan's hurt! You can't just leave him like this!" Tea glared.

"He should've thought of that before coming here," Seto smirked as Tea shook her fists, face turning hot red. He glared at Atem on the field. "Make the final strike!"

_"I..."_ Atem said, feeling a huge lump in his throat.

"If you don't make your move in 30 seconds, you will automatically forfeit the duel!" The employer declared as Atem stared at his friend in pure horror.

_"RYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOU!"_ Ryan screamed on the top of his lungs before his millennium ring began glowing with pure brilliance.

"What's going on?" Yami Ryou gasped before finding himself in circles inside Ryou's soul room.

* * *

><p>Inside Ryan's soul room, Marik found himself pinned down by Ryou. He tried to escape from this boy's grasp, but it seemed no use. Dark mist was almost engulfing the air of the soul room as Ryou's eyes began glowing pure gold and a third eye appeared on his forehead.<p>

"What are you doing? We made an agreement!" Marik glared.

"I made no agreement with you, Marik!" Ryou shouted and the dark mist danced around the two. "I may not control when or when not Zork controls me, but the gods are still on my side. Summoning Slifer kills off the darkness within my soul room. YOU ARE THROUGH, MARIK!"

Marik glared, trying to free himself from Ryou's grip that clamped him to the ground. Before he knew it, he felt extreme pain as his body slowly disappeared from Ryan's soul room. Ryou stood up on his two feet and glared at the place Marik was last seen. The third eye still glowed on his forehead as the dark mist danced around Ryou.

"I will take it from here!" Ryou shouted as he gained control from his brother.

* * *

><p>"10 seconds!" The employer cried as Ryou put his hand over his duel disk to surrender.<p>

"_LOOK!_ HE'S SURRENDERING THE DUEL!" Mokuba cried to his brother.

"_Uh..._ then Atem Moto wins the duel by default!" The employer declared before everyone climbed on the stage and came to Ryou's aid.

"Ryan! Ryan, is that you?" Joey asked as Slifer disappeared.

_"I... think he's gone,"_ Ryou muttered, then cringing over the pain in his arm. _"... for now."_

"Co'mon, we have to get him to the clinic!" Atem cried aloud, holding Ryou up in his arms.

Everyone gathered and carried Ryou to the clinic room inside the blimp. The bleeding wasn't too bad and it didn't grow any worse than it already was. Though, it did take a while for everyone to find out that Ryou was in control and not Ryan. He had the millennium ring be placed on the hospital bed post until he was completely healed.

Atem walked into his room to comfort Serenity after the Shadow Game. He felt extremely guilty for letting Serenity see this duel. If he would've known it'd turn into a Shadow Game, he would never have let Serenity watch the duel. She cried on his shoulder while clutching onto his shirt.

_"Shhhhh,"_ Atem comforted Serenity before laying a kiss on her head.

_"I thought I lost you!"_ Serenity wept.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. I should've known that evil spirit was controlling Ryan again," Atem said, blaming himself.

_"It's not your fault. Y-You didn't know... I didn't know... who did?"_

Atem sighed, "I still feel kinda guilty. I know you and Ryou say it wasn't my fault, but I still should've seen the clues..._ I don't know._" Another sigh escaped from his lips while holding out a card in front of him. "At least he was nice enough to give me his rare card, Destiny Board, even though I kept telling him a million times he didn't have to lend me his rare card."

_"I suppose,"_ Serenity muttered, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"The next lottery will begin soon. You should probably stay just in case Marik duels someone. I don't want to risk losing you."

_"I want to see Joey duel,"_ Serenity said.

"I know, but you saw what the last duel did to me. If Marik duels, who knows what kind of Shadow Game he'll bring."

_"I don't care. I... I just want to be there for him. I don't want to be in the dark anymore!"_

Atem sighed, not knowing anyway to make his girlfriend change her mind. Serenity laid her head on Atem's shoulder while staring out the window at the afternoon sky. There was no telling what would happen next. Serenity hoped in her heart that the next duel will not turn out anymore worse than it was. She let a few more tears roll across her cheeks.


	29. Awakening of the Darkness

**Here is the Joey and Odion duel. This one's not a Shadow Game, so it'll be less violent until the very end when the Winged Dragon of Ra does the Zeus thing. I hope you like this. I'm also coewriting with Aqua Girl a vampire fan fic. called Out For Blood, if you guys are interested. I promise it's not gonna be stupid like most vampire fics are. Review please!**

Everyone gathered about inside the Snack Room. Serenity was still feeling shaky about Atem's duel with Yami Ryou. Though, he was no longer controlling Ryou, so there was nothing to worry about, besides Marik of course. Unfortunately, he was sitting at the corner of the room, _or Odion was._ The real Marik was sitting at the table with Atem, Serenity, Joey, and Duke.

Marik laced his fingers together. He was glad he wasn't dueling against the Pharaoh during this round. He didn't want to reveal himself just yet. He was still getting close to Atem and scooping really great information. _He was the perfect puppet for him!_

Though, Marik still felt guilt just by thinking of Atem being his _mind puppet_. He knew he was taking advantage of one of the first friends he's made... _well..._ Marik thought inside his mind that he couldn't call Atem_ 'a friend'_ per say, but maybe a guy he kinda... sorta... _liked_. Though, Marik supposed that in time him and Atem could be considered _friends_ in the future, at least once he avenged his father and killed Yugi. Atem would probably not forgive him for that, but he decided since he already implanted control on the guy anyways, he could just control Atem to forgive him or something.

More guilt came. No matter how Marik twisted things, he knew what he was doing to his friend was wrong.

"Something wrong, Namu?" Atem asked Marik.

"Oh, I'm good," Marik lied before the Blue-Eyes Lottery Machine turned on and caught two balls. Then, a puff of smoke blew from the butt of the Blue-Eyes. Almost everyone made snickering chuckles.

"Maybe I should make the blue-eyes vomit next time," Atem thought as Marik gave a chuckle.

"The next two duelists are number 2 and 4! Joey Wheeler versus Marik Ishtar!" The employer announced.

"AW YEAH! Time for me to give that asshole a piece of my mind for almost killing my best pal!" Joey shouted excitedly before flipping Odion off.

"Be careful, Joey. He might challenge you to a Shadow Game. Both times I've been challenged to a Shadow Game, they were life threatening," Atem warned his friend. "You saw what happened to me back there!"

"I'll be fine! No worries, man!"

"Be careful, Joey!" Serenity said.

"Sis, why don't cha stay here? This might get dirty," Joey warned his sister.

"I'm going up and watch you duel! Atem will be with me, so I'll be fine!"

Joey showed narrowed eyebrows while nodding his head. He turned to Atem and whispered, _"keep an eye on her."_

_"I will,"_ Atem promised.

Joey and Odion left the Snack Room and headed for the Duel Arena on the blimp. They entered the stage and shuffled each other's deck. Joey showed his serious gaming face. He was willing to make this guy pay dearly. Though, little did he know, this wasn't the real Marik Ishtar.

"You ready, baldy?" Joey asked with his game face.

"I will be sure you land in defeat!" Odion said plainly.

"Wow, is it just me, or does Marik sound like one of Seto's body guards?" Tristan smirked.

"I... _don't know_," Atem said before grabbing his forehead.

Marik could feel his millennium rod vibrating. It seems that Atem was fighting over some part of _control_ without even knowing he was. Marik was starting to suspect that the Pharaoh had something to do with it. He searched deeply into Atem's mind, but Yugi wasn't in his brother's soul room or even _hinting_ about Marik. _Why was Atem all of a sudden fighting over control?_

_'What do you want me to do, Master Marik?'_ Odion asked Marik through their link.

_'Defeat Joey Wheeler!'_ Marik ordered.

_'Yes sir.'_

Joey shoved his deck into his duel disk and he and Odion began their duel. They took out five cards from their deck. Joey was to start off, so he drew his card.

"I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode, then end my turn!" Joey declared on his first move as a knight appeared with mighty armor and a shield. Joey had confidence in that deep smirk on his face.

Odion drew his card, then declared, "I play my spell card Royal Temple!" A huge Egyptian Temple appeared on the field behind him with a large box in the middle. "Thanks to this spell, I can play two traps per turn instead of one!"

"Son of a bitch!" Duke responded.

"Now, I place two cards face-down and end my turn!" Odion finished.

"He's got no monsters on the field! Joey can attack right?" Hanaski asked.

"Not really. There are still those face-down cards. If Joey attacks right away, he might end up killing himself," Atem explained.

_"What I'm wondering is what's in that box,_" Yugi said, pointing to the box in the middle of the temple.

_'I'm not sure, but it must be important,'_ Atem thought.

_"Oh, I'm so scared. I'm shaking in my boots,"_ Joey mocked with sarcasm. "I play Panther Warrior and end my turn!"

"He must be the perfect opponent for you, Joey. While you're all about monsters, Marik is all about traps. Both complete opposite ways of fighting," Atem smirked.

"And I'm gonna kick his butt!" Joey promised.

"I play two more face-down cards and end!" Odion said.

"I summon Swordsman of Landstar!" Joey smirked before unleashing a spell card from his hand. "And I play Giant Trunade, which returns your spells and traps to your hand! What cha think of them apples?"

"I'm afraid you're the one who's been _outsmarted_. You see, you _assumed_ my face-down cards would activate by your monster's attacks, but I was waiting for you to play a spell card," Odion pointed out before revealing his trap card, Judgment of Anubis. "This wipes out all your monsters from the field." All of Joey's monsters disappeared and were sent to the graveyard, leaving Joey with 1850 life points remaining. "It was easy to see that you would play Giant Trunade, since you only played monsters and had not folded any cards. These tactics are childish to me."

"Joey, you okay?" Atem asked, hoping that Joey was fine if this was _a Shadow Game_.

"I'm cool!" Joey assured. Atem furrowed two eyebrows. He could see Marik _wasn't_ playing a Shadow Game on Joey, but _why?_ Was he waiting for the right time? Also, why are his skills different from the ones Yugi played against Strings? Atem felt another throbbing in his head. _Where was this throbbing coming from?_

"Co'mon Joey, you can do this!" Hanaski cheered his friend on. He noticed something was wrong with Atem. "You okay?"

"Sorta. I just have this weird headache," Atem replied. Marik furrowed his eyebrows while clutching his millennium rod, which was behind him.

"Ha! I have to say, you're pretty good there, Marik! It's high time I started playin' for real!" Joey smirked with enthusiasm.

"Guess you can't dampen the enthusiasm of a moron," Seto commented before Joey's head turned red.

"HEY! YOU WATCH IT, RICH BOY!" Joey yelled from the stage while Seto rolled his eyes.

"My turn!" Odion declared while drawing his card. "I play another card face-down then end my turn!"

"Gee, does he have _any_ monsters in that deck of his? If not then I'm certainly bored!" Tristan commented.

_'No monsters?'_ Atem asked himself. His mind was hurting even worse than before. Logic and suspicion grew in his thoughts and brain. He didn't know it, but he was fighting against something in his soul room. Yugi gasped and disappeared into his brother's soul room to find out what was going on.

"Marik, what are you doing to brother?" Yugi asked demandingly and worryingly while opening the door. Everything seemed fine, but there was a picture book that kept turning pages as if wind was blowing the pages continuously. Yugi dashed to the read the book and picked it up, then began to read it. On the right pages, showed a picture of Odion and how he was dueling. The pictures on the left showed how Marik was dueling while controlling Strings, Joey, and Hanaski. Neither of them matched: the way they acted, the way they spoke, and the way they played Duel Monsters. "Atem is fighting Marik's control, because he's smart enough to know that Odion couldn't possibly be Marik! He's trying to gather conclusions on his own!" Yugi knew he had to stop Marik from hurting his brother anymore than he's already done. "MARIK, STOP THIS! LEAVE BROTHER ALONE! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T HURT HIM!"

Yugi found his spirit against the wall with Marik pointing the rod right under his chin. He laughed deviously before picking up the book.

"Atem's a smart one. I suppose he knows too much now," Marik said.

"DON'T HURT HIM!" Yugi cried. Marik lifted his rod in the air and it glowed.

* * *

><p>Joey drew his next card, then declared, "I summon Alligator Sword in attack mode!" Alligator Sword appeared on the field with its big long sword. "Then I set one card face-down! That ends my turn!" He knew he couldn't attack now or he'd be walking all over Odion's traps.<p>

"I pass," Odion declared. This annoyed Joey more than ever. He wasn't doing any fighting. All he did was just sit around and do _nothing!_ NOTHING!

"My turn!" Joey shouted before drawing his card. "I summon Rocket Warrior! He attacks you directly!"

"I activate my trap card Will of the Wadjet. This lets me control your Rocket Warrior," Odion declared, showing his face-down card. Rocket Warrior appeared on Odion's side of the field. "Now, Rocket Warrior attacks your Alligator Sword!" Rocket Warrior changed into a mini rocket and headed for Alligator Sword.

"Sorry, but I activate Monster Box!" Joey smirked as he revealed his trap card. A Whack-a-Mole box appeared with Alligator Sword's head sticking out one hole, then ducking and appearing in another hole like the game Whack-a-Mole. "Let's see if you can hit my Alligator Sword now!" Rocket Warrior hit one of the holes and looked for Alligator Sword, who was in another hole. Alligator Sword was safe. "Guess not! Looks like I outsmarted you in this round! Plus, I see your weakness in your _strategy_, you consist to using only spells and traps! I bet you got no monsters on the field!"

_"Is that so?_" Odion asked sarcastically as Joey gave him a_ 'duh'_ look. "It's true that my deck mostly consists of spells and traps, but what if there was a trap that was also a monster?"

"Is there such thing?" Hanaski asked.

_"There is,"_ Duke replied. He then noticed a blank look on Atem's face. "Atem, you okay?"

Atem turned his head with hollowed eyes and replied,_ "I am perfectly okay."_

* * *

><p>Yugi, inside his brother's soul room, still pinned to the wall and cried, "get out of brother's soul room, Marik!"<p>

"I'm afraid I can't do that, _Pharaoh_!" Marik replied, his millennium rod still glowing. "Remember, I can destroy Atem's soul room anytime I want!"

"Marik, I'm begging you, stop this!" Yugi pleaded, feeling more helpless than he's ever been in his life.

"You unleashed this on yourself!"

"I didn't kill your father! Honest!"

"LIER!"

* * *

><p>"You triggered my trap!" Odion said, revealing his face-down card. "Embodiment of Apophis! In fact, you triggered all three of them!" Two other face-down cards revealed as also Embodiment of Apophis. Three human-snake monsters appeared on the field with a snake-head on their neck.<p>

_"Shiiiiiiiit!"_ Tristan responded.

"Don't worry, Joey! You can do it!" Serenity cheered.

_"I'll try,"_ Joey muttered, trying to think of a plan. "I fold one card and end my turn!"

"Now, my monsters shall attack!" Odion declared.

"Then I reveal Scapegoat!" Joey declared as his face-down card was revealed and four Scapegoat tokens appeared on the field.

"Not good enough!" Odion glared before he played a card from his hand. "I use De-Spell to get rid of your lambs!"

_"Oh shit!"_

Joey was attacked by three of Odion's Apophises, destroying two of his monsters and giving Odion room for a direct attack. Joey was now left with a mere 50 life points. There was no hope as far as anyone was concerned. Joey had 50 points left and after one more attack, he was done for. A part of him wanted to surrender this duel, but...

"CO'MON JOEY! YOU CAN DO IT!" Serenity cheered her brother on. "Don't give up! You and Atem gave me hope when I was alone in the dark! Don't give up!"

Odion seemed very surprised by this response. He remembered being alone in the dark for so many years as a Tombkeeper. He began wondering why Joey participated in this tournament? What he was searching for? Why he was dueling right now? These questions kept stirring in his mind.

"I ain't givin' up, sis!" Joey promised, then drew his next card. "You're going down, Marik! I play two cards face-down! That ends it!"

"So disappointing. It's time I crushed you!" Odion glared as his monsters began attacking Joey.

"I play my trap Foolish Burial! I choose one card from my deck and put it in your graveyard!" Joey smirked as he revealed his face-down card. "Then, I reveal Graverobber! This lets me take a card from your graveyard and I get to use it on the field! I choose Jinzo to put in your graveyard and to take and summon it on my field!" Odion gasped as Jinzo appeared on the field and began destroying the trap cards.

"OH YEAH!" Tristan shouted excitedly.

Joey gave Duke a signal and he covered Serenity's ears for what was about to come.

"That's it! I had it with these mother f***ing snakes on this mother f***ing duel!" Joey spouted out as Jinzo destroyed all three of Odion's trap monsters before he gave blinking eyes. "_OH CO'MON!_ YOU'VE NEVER SEEN THAT MOVIE?"

Most of the guys laughed over that, even Atem, who was still controlled by Marik.

* * *

><p>In Atem's soul room, Yugi was trying to think of a way to bring his brother back without losing him. There just didn't seem to be a way how! Yugi decided to do the first thing that came to his mind. He used the millennium puzzle's powers to free himself and attacked Marik by grabbing his millennium rod.<p>

"Give it back you little bastard!" Marik shouted. Yugi was not willing to let go and fought Marik over the millennium rod.

* * *

><p>Because of what was going on in Atem's soul room, Atem was frozen in his state-of-mind.<p>

"Jinzo attacks you directly!" Joey declared as Jinzo made a huge ball of energy and attacked Odion, leaving him with 1600 life points remaining.

"That was an impressive combat. You never gave up despite your life points being so small. You are indeed a brave one," Odion complimented with a small smile.

"SHUT UP! You almost killed my best friend, because of your stupid brainwashing rod thing! I'm gonna make you pay dearly!" Joey shouted. "I end my turn."

Odion drew his next card and revealed, "I play Swords of Revealing Light!"

Light swords surrounded Jinzo, preventing it from attacking. Joey glared, "very well, I go!" He drew his next card. "I play Legendary Fisherman in defense mode!" Legendary Fisherman appeared on the field in a defense position. This was the soul card of Mako Tsunami. "Your turn!"

Odion drew his next card, then his eyes widened and he gasped. He knew what _card_ this was. It was a fake copy of the Winged Dragon of Ra. Marik had tested counterfeit cards of the Winged Dragon of Ra before Battle City and now one of them was in Odion's deck. Odion knew summoning this monster would be dangerous and an insult to the gods. _It was a death wish waiting to happen!_

"I place one card face-down!" Odion declared. He seemed hesitant as he stared at the card he just drew. "Then, I place one card inside the arc of the temple!" A card was shown sealed into the box in the middle of the temple. Joey's eyes slightly widened. _Could it be the Winged Dragon of Ra?_

"I summon Baby Dragon, then end my turn!" Joey said as Baby Dragon appeared on the field.

"I play two cards face-down and end my turn!"

"On my next turn, my monsters will wipe you out!" Joey glared at Odion.

"I'm afraid it's too late," Odion smirked. Joey stared at him dumbfoundedly. "You see, I played Swords of Revealing Light to prepare a ritual!" Joey's eyes widened as Odion revealed his two face-down cards. "I reveal Cup of Sealed Soul and Seal of Selket. When these cards are revealed and a card is sealed into the arc, I can ritual summon Selket the Scorpion God!" The cards disappeared and inside the temple revealed a giant scorpion with the Eye of Horus on its head. Joey's eyes widened and began looking disgusted. _He hated scorpions._ "This god exists only to protect the card inside the arc!"

_"Okay, not good! Not good at all!"_ Joey said, looking freaked out.

"Co'mon Joey! Kick his butt!" Serenity cheered.

"Yeah, you can do it!" Hanaski cheered.

"I end my turn and the swords disappear!" Odion declared as the swords disappeared.

Joey drew his next card, then said, "I place my monsters into defense!"

"Too bad," Odion smirked. "My Scorpion attacks!" Selket the Scorpion reached its claws and ate Jinzo whole. Everyone cringed over the sight of the huge scorpion eating Jinzo. "It also comes with a special ability. My Scorpion can take half its attack and add it to its own." Selket the Scorpion's attack rose to 3700 attack points.

"Okay, that's just gross," Tea cringed in disgust.

"I'm a guy and even _I_ think it's gross," Tristan commented. He noticed Atem still held his blank look. "Okay dude, you're _really_ starting to scare me. Are you okay?"

* * *

><p>Inside Atem's soul room, Yugi held Marik down, his two hands clutching onto the millennium rod. He had to find a way to protect his brother from being harmed anymore than he already was. Marik was fighting hard to get back his millennium rod. A third eye glowed on his forehead, trying to find the strength to fight back.<p>

"Leave, brother alone!" Yugi yelled.

"NO! Get off me you little bastard!"

Suddenly, Marik found his body being yanked from Yugi and the millennium rod. He let out a short yelp before being tossed on the other side of the soul room. He gasped as he saw Damon once again. Because Yugi held Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Damon's spirit rested with Yugi. Damon bowed to Yugi.

"Please Pharaoh, let me take care of this villain," Damon offered.

"Just keep Marik from hurting my brother!" Yugi said.

"He's already done too much damage. We'll have to shut this soul room down until we're sure his implant parasite is gone for good!" Damon suggested as the millennium rod glowed brightly and the soul room shut down.

* * *

><p>Atem passed out and fell onto the ground. His friends gasped as Duke caught him in his arms. Joey paused the duel, seeing his friend passed out. Marik jumped back, then blinked, irritated that Damon outwitted him once again. He was going to have to get rid of that <em>former priest<em>.

"ATEM!" Serenity shouted with a huge gasp.

"He's alright! He's breathing!" Duke assured.

"I'll take him to a clinic!" Marik said, wanting to not give up his control on Atem. _'Finish him, Odion. I've got some _business_ with a meddling priest.'_

_'Yes, Master Marik,'_ Odion obeyed before continuing his duel.

"I end my turn!" Joey declared, not knowing anything else to do.

"My Scorpion eats your Legendary Fisherman!" Odion declared as Selket the Scorpion God ate Legendary Fisherman and gained its life force. It's attack was now 4625.

"Co'mon Joey, draw your next card!" Hanaski cheered.

Serenity bit her bottom lip as she watched her brother draw his next card.

Odion started remembering his past. The life he lived in the dark with Marik and Ishizu. He was found long ago as an infant by their mother, who adopted him as a son. His father, on the other hand, only saw him as a _slave_ and nothing else. Marik, Ishizu, and his mother loved Odion as a son. He always served his family greatly and would give himself to protect the two.

Their father was cruel by heart. He would always want things his way and if nobody listened, he'd beat them until they were black and blue. That was how their mother died. Marik was treated no different, but he took the situation harder than Odion and Ishizu. Ishizu would've taken the pain just as hard if it weren't for the millennium necklace. She saw the future and bright ones to come. Marik inherited the millennium rod and only saw darkness. The pressure was too much for one kid to handle and developed an alter ego inside his mind. Compared to Atem and Ryan, Marik's soul room that contained two chambers only held one door that separated the two. This only concluded that the chamber on the other side of the door was one Marik created in his own subconscious.

Odion knew of this _alter ego_, so he performed a ritual, a spell, to contain this darkened soul within himself and protect Marik from himself. Unfortunately, it never always _worked out_. If anything was to happen to Odion, Marik's dark ego would let loose like wildfire. The magic that Odion used held the evil from Marik inside his own soul room. Because of this, Odion seemed more darker than he usually is, making it easier to follow Marik's evil plans and not listen to reason.

Joey ended his turn, having no cards to turn the duel around.

"My monster keeps feeding off of yours and yet you still fight?" Odion asked dumbfounded.

"I do! I'll keep fighting until my life points reach 0!" Joey promised.

"You think Joey has a chance to win?" Mai asked her friends.

"It's not curtain, but Wheeler won't give up. A true duelist always fights until the end," Seto clarified.

"_Hold on!_ Did you just compliment Joey?" Duke asked in surprise.

_"NO!"_ Seto glared. "I'm just saying one of Wheeler's motives. That doesn't consider him a true duelist."

"My turn! My Scorpion attacks Baby Dragon!" Odion declared as Selket the Scorpion's attack rose to 5325. Joey held confidence in his eyes. "Your turn!"

"I end my turn, but before you do anything, there's something I must say!" Joey said. Odion looked up at the kid. "I've been thinking. When I first came to duel, I came to make Marik pay for hurting my friend!"

"How vengeful!" Odion glared plainly.

"Yes, and I was angry at you and giving you all the anger I got. But now... _I don't feel that anger anymore_," Joey admitted. Everyone rose two eyebrows. "Atem passed out while you were dueling and it wasn't _from_ you, but it seems something that would happen if _Marik_ had anything to do with it. In other words..." He pointed his index finger at Odion. _"YOU'RE NOT MARIK!"_

Everyone gasped in shock and horror. Seto didn't seem too surprised. Just then, he realized something and rose two eyebrows.

_"Shit,"_ Seto muttered before running off to the inside of the blimp.

"Kaiba?" Duke questioned.

"Wait a second, if that's not Marik, then..." Hanaski thought as everyone's eyes bulged.

"It could've been the eighth duelist," Duke said.

"The eighth duelist is Ishizu and she's a female," Mai pointed out.

"If the eighth duelist is a girl, then that means..." Hanaski began concluding. Everyone gasped, knowing the truth. If the duelist dueling Joey wasn't Marik, then the real Marik is... _NAMU!_

* * *

><p>Inside the blimp, Marik laid Atem on the bed in his private room. He then pointed his millennium rod at the boy with a deadly smirk on his lips.<p>

"It's time I finished you off you son of a bitch!" Marik said darkly as a glowing third eye appeared on his forehead and his rod began to glow. Though, before he could finish his attack, he was punched in the face and landed on his back.

"I should've guessed you were _too_ much of an ass," Seto glared with deadly blue eyes.

"You don't know the half of it," Marik smirked before he pointed his rod at Seto, then was pinned to the ground, his hand over the rod. "Son of a bitch!"

"Took the words right out of my mouth!" Seto smirked as the two began wrestling and rolling on the ground, fighting over the millennium rod.

_'Master Marik...'_ Odion called to Marik through their link.

_'Summon Ra. People are starting to suspect me!'_ Marik cried desperately while fighting off Seto, who seemed to be getting the upper hand.

_'But Master Marik...'_

_'JUST DO IT, BASTARD! PROVE YOU ARE MARIK ISHTAR!'_

* * *

><p>Odion heard the last words from his brother. He smirked, then said, "I shall prove I'm Marik by summoning the Winged Dragon of Ra."<p>

"The god card?" Duke gasped.

"But he shouldn't be able to because..." Hanaski muttered, having the strong feeling that the card wasn't really _the Winged Dragon of Ra._

"I sacrifice my scorpion and half my life points," Odion declared as his Selket the Scorpion disappeared from the field, including half his life points. A huge flaming bird-dragon appeared brightly on the field with 5225 attack. Joey knew he was done for good. "Winged Dragon of Ra, attack Joey directly!"

_"JOEY!"_ Serenity cried, watching her brother about to be attack and lose the duel.

Suddenly, a beam of light shot from the blimp to the sky. Serenity screamed, seeing the giant light beam. The fake copy of the Winged Dragon of Ra turned pitch black, including the sky.

_"HOLY SHIT!"_ Joey yelled as lighting burst from the sky, hitting the ground.

"EVERYONE LOOK OUT!" Duke cried aloud, trying to push everyone from the lightning, fazing through the glass dome.

One of the lightning bults hit right through Odion, striking him fully before he fell on the ground, his eyes bulged open in shock. One lightning bult was about to hit Joey before he jumped out of the way, falling off the stage. The employer shot Joey away from the chaos happening on the dueling stage.

"Oh, so _now_ you help?" Joey asked rhetorically.

"Part of my job is to assure the safety of the duelists! We were prepared to take Ryan in if he was too injured to play!" The employer explained, making Joey slightly irritated by that fact.

"Holy shit!" Duke shouted, seeing Odion on the ground with eyes burst open.

_"M-M-Marik,"_ Odion muttered.

* * *

><p>Inside the blimp, Marik threw Seto on the ground and pointed his millennium rod at him. Suddenly, he heard bursts of lightning and felt Odion knocked out.<em> NO!<em> Marik gasped in shock as Seto angrily got up on his feet, then suddenly Marik began feeling dizzy and his head started spinning.

Marik fell on his knees, grabbing his head with both hands. _'What's happening to me?'_ Marik asked himself, trying to stay awake. There was only one thing on his mind and he headed right toward that _one thing._

Seto couldn't stop Marik from untwisting the cap from the bottom of the millennium rod and stabbing the sharp side on Atem's chest. His eyes bulged wide open. Blood was seeping through Atem's chest as Seto glared and ran to yank Marik off his friend. Suddenly, a burst of light came from both the card in Marik's deck and the millennium rod. Marik felt his body slip through the millennium rod and right into Atem's soul room.

After the light deceased, Marik fainted and fell right onto the floor, his millennium rod dropping to the floor and rolling on the ground with drips of blood. Atem's eyes were now closed once again. Seto picked up the millennium rod, then stared at Atem, seeing the bloody wound on his chest. It seemed deep, but not too deep to kill him. Seto took off his jacket to stop the bleeding, sitting Atem's body up.

The millennium rod was yanked from Seto's hands. Seto held Atem in a protective manner while gazing up at what seemed to be _Marik_, only in a much darker tone, if that was possible.

"Hehe, that was sure fun! I guess Marik didn't stand a chance after his foolish brother summoned a fake Ra!" Marik's second personality smirked wildly while laughing sickly.

"If you're not Marik, then who are you?" Seto asked.

"I'm Melvin!" Melvin replied before pointing the millennium rod at Seto and his body froze in place. "I think it's time I did what Marik never did!" He lifted the rod in the air, pointing the pointy end at Seto before he was unfrozen and Melvin gasped, seeing that Atem just woke up.

_"Marik, you son of a bitch,"_ Atem muttered, sweat pouring on his face.

"You're a smart one, Atem, but as I told your friend, I'm not _Marik_. Call me Melvin from now on!" Melvin smirked deviously, chuckling very darkly. "Anyways, looks like I'll be going now. You're lucky, because _Marik_ implanted control on you, not me!"

Melvin walked out the door as Atem glared at the door where he left at. He pressed Seto's jacket against his wound while glaring at his feet. Seto could not forgive Marik for this! His left hand began hurting as he bit his bottom lip. Atem grabbed it as Seto looked up.

_"I think I need medical attention,"_ Atem muttered as Seto nodded, and carried his friend to the Clinic inside the blimp.


	30. Through Pain

**I was glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter, especially the fighting scene. I decided not to include Joey getting electrocuted and having that dream, since nobody would survive from that without being hospitalized or comatose for several hours. Also, the dream scene was kinda stupid and how Mai responded was stupid too. The anime was worse, because Joey was stupid. Anyways, I'm not putting either of those scenes for that reason. Review please!**

Everyone gathered around Odion and brought him, strapped to a rolling bed, into a clinic. They were all still in shock about what just happened and what they just saw. Serenity was staying close to her brother for security. There was still the big question about Marik, the real Marik. He had lied to them about his identity and was probably doing harm to Atem at this current moment.

Tristan and Duke rolled Odion to the clinic while everyone else left to look for Atem. Before they could search his room, they found _Marik_ swinging the door to Atem's room wide open. Though, he seemed _different_. There was more psychoticness written on his face than usual. The millennium rod was held on his right hand.

"MARIK!" Joey shouted. "Where's my pal?"

"I'm afraid _Marik_ is gone now. My name is Melvin and your friend is gonna need some... _medical attention_," Melvin replied with a sickly grin on his face.

_"Atem!"_ Serenity cried as she saw Seto carrying Atem, who was bleeding around his chest area with Seto's trench coat to cover the wound. "Oh my god!"

"He's fine! Let's get this son of a bitch some help!" Seto said with seriousness, too angry to pay attention to the fact that Serenity was nearby.

Seto brought Atem to the clinic with Odion and Ryan. The nurses wrapped Atem in bandages to stop the bleeding. He was hurt and tired from what just happened. Serenity stayed by Atem's side, holding his hand tightly. Tea, Hanaski, Tristan, Joey, Mai, Duke, and Seto also stayed.

"You okay, buddy?" Joey asked.

_"Sorta... that son of a..._ you know,_ lied to me,"_ Atem muttered angrily.

"He lied to all of us!" Tristan pointed out.

"Not to mention hurt his brother!" Joey said, pointing his thumb at Odion.

_"He was controlling me,"_ Atem included as everyone's eyes widened._ "He controlled me in my soul room and threatened Yugi that he would kill me. I..."_ His fists were shaking. _"Serenity, cover your eyes and ears."_ Serenity nodded and did so before Atem threw a punch on the wall next to him._ "How dare he treat Yugi like shit!"_

_"Atem..."_ Tea muttered, not knowing what to say about this.

Serenity uncovered her eyes and ears and noticed the hurt and anger in Atem's eyes. Even Seto seemed very upset about the situation. If he hadn't been there to save Atem, who knows what would've happened to him. He was sitting on the chair, rubbing the palm of his left hand with some sort of _note_ on it.

Mai furrowed her eyebrows and eyed the opened door of the clinic. Marik was going to have to pay for all his crimes. He hurt Joey, Hanaski, and mostly Atem. Atem was the one suffering the most from this guy. Mai had vengeance written on her face and wanted Marik to pay dearly. Atem was a good person, even if he can be a jerk most of the time.

"I feel like this is my fault for what happened to that guy," Joey said, pointing his face toward Odion.

"It's not your fault. Neither of us knew that wasn't the real Marik. If you ask me, it was Marik's fault for putting that guy through so much," Duke assured.

_"He's going through so much pain and betrayal. I know _exactly_ how he feels,"_ Serenity muttered as tears rolled down her eyes. She grabbed a hold of her arms, then Joey held her gently.

"Only he's worse than Dad, because Pops started becoming like that when he started drinking. Marik's no drunkard," Joey explained while his sister continued to rest her head on her brother's shoulder.

"Hey, what's that on your hand?" Tristan asked Seto, who then covered it and shot him a glare.

"Nothing," Seto replied before standing up and walking out the door. "I'm going to find out the next two contestants."

"I'm going to too," Mai said with bold confidence. "And if Marik's my opponent, I will make sure he pays for this!"

_"Be careful, Mai. I wouldn't wish for you to duel Marik,"_ Atem glared. _"In fact, this is not even Marik, it's Melvin. He might be ten times worse than Marik."_

"No matter, I'm in this to win!" Mai proclaimed before walking out the door.

"I'll stay with you, my love," Serenity said, brushing her fingers through Atem's soft hair.

_"Thank you,"_ Atem thanked Serenity, who gave a warm smile in return.

"I'll watch Mai..._ if she's next_," Tea said as Atem nodded and she left.

"I'll stay," Hanaski promised. "Someone's gotta take care of you and Ryan."

_"I suppose,"_ Atem smirked. Hanaski gave out a warm smile.

Joey, Tristan, and Duke left, leaving Atem with Serenity and Hanaski. Serenity brushed her fingers through Atem's hair as her boyfriend drifted off to sleep. Hanaski kept watch over Ryan and Odion, who were both asleep. Things seemed quiet inside the clinic room.

* * *

><p>Atem came to his soul room and to his shock, he found Marik's spirit lying unconscious in the middle of the floor. Yugi and Damon were kneeling by his side with confusion written on their faces. Atem was just as confused.<p>

"What happened?" Atem asked.

"After we turned off your soul room, Marik remained here trying to fight us off. Before we knew it, he transferred his entire soul into this room and had been staying like this since. Normally, I'd be destroying this one, but this is Marik's _true_ soul. If he's destroyed here, then so is the real Marik," Damon explained.

"I could be wrong, but I think Marik was fighting something inside of him, a true evil he was blinded to. It explains why he tried to kill us and thought _I_ killed his father. He seems to have... _an evil spirit_ inside of him that makes him see illusions that aren't there. In this modern day, we call it schizophrenia mixed with Dissociative identity disorder," Yugi thought. Atem's expression seemed to be holding the same.

_"Second Personality,"_ Atem clarified.

"Though you also have Yugi as your second personal, he is a _spirit_ who abides in your body as a vessel. This _Mevlin person_ is one that Marik had created to handle curtain stresses that he could not handle himself. This can be developed by extreme abuse. Seeing he also has schizo, alot of the times, he saw things that weren't there. That is caused by several factors: family genes, malfunction in the brain, or mutation. Tombkeepers were known for interbreeding, so that could've been the cause, especially since they don't live in our society and are still stuck in Ancient Egypt," Damon explained.

"How'd you..." Atem asked.

"Former priest, you learn a few things," Damon replied with a short smile.

"Brother, I know Marik has done wrong to us, but we can't just kill him!" Yugi said.

"Not planning on to. I'd be just as bad as him. Though, I'm not just gonna let him f*** around with me like a puppet again!" Atem proclaimed.

"I could send him to my soul room. He can't control me, since my true soul room is nowhere to be found," Yugi suggested.

"Very well," Atem agreed, then faced Damon. "Take him to Yugi's soul room. Marik will be safe there and won't use me like a rag doll."

"Of course!" Damon replied before picking Marik up over his shoulder and carrying him to Yugi's maze soul room. Yugi stayed inside his brother's soul room in the meantime.

Yugi sat on the floor with his legs crossed. He stared at the floor while tapping his fingers against each other. Atem sat next to Yugi and wrapped his arms around him, keeping him close to himself. Yugi let the warmth of Atem's arms overtake him as the tears rolled down his cheeks. All the stress about keeping his brother safe now lifted off his shoulders and set him free. This worry no longer existed.

Atem felt horrible for letting Yugi carry all this grief and worry, making sure he was okay. He would not forgive Marik for putting Yugi with such pain. _What was he thinking?_ How dare he threaten Yugi like that with putting himself at gunpoint! Atem declared that he would make sure this _never_ happened again. _Never!_

_"I'm sorry I never told you! I did, but Marik erased your memories and..."_ Yugi apologized before he felt a finger on his lips. He looked up in tears and saw his brother's serious face.

_"Shhhhh, I know,"_ Atem whispered before laying a kiss on Yugi's head. "I promise he won't harm you anymore. Being in your soul room, it will take almost forever for him to find his way into mine."

Yugi slightly moaned while burying his face into Atem's chest. At this point, he was too scared to leave Atem's soul room and wanted to stay with his brother and know for a fact that he was safe right here. Atem knew Yugi would be scared to leave his soul room, so he stayed and continually brushed through though his brother's thick hair. Yugi needed some comforting through times like these. Atem didn't even want to leave his soul room anyways, since his body was drugged anyway and he didn't want to deal with the awful pain on his chest.

Yugi began snuggling in Atem's arms with a comforting smile on his face. Atem smiled and slowly rubbed Yugi's back up and down. Then, Atem pulled back a few of Yugi's blond locks behind the ears, then kissed the corner of his brother's forehead.

_"I love you,"_ Atem whispered in Yugi's ear.

_"I love you too, brother,"_ Yugi muttered._ "I don't ever want to lose you."_

"I know you don't. I don't wanna lose you either."

_"Is this worth winning back my memories?"_

"I think it is," Atem replied with a soft smile. "I want you to know who you are and where you came from and why you chose me among many as your vessel."

_"I think I already know that answer. I fell completely in love with you when I first met you."_

"I didn't look that _cute_ when I was eight!" Atem smirked, rolling his eyes.

"Actually, your grandpa found me _before_ you were born. I was talking about when you were first born. You were the cutest thing on earth."

_"Oh hell no,"_ Atem blushed madly. "I thought only _girls_ fell for infants!"

"Guys can too!"

"You're a weird one!"

"I love you too."

Atem snorted while brushing his fingers through Yugi's hair once more. This brought great comfort to Yugi with every second that passed by.


	31. Ra Awakens

**Here comes the next chapter! You've probably noticed, but I took away the dream thing with Joey and Mai getting mad at him. I thought it was stupid and pointless, so I took it out. I mean really? She's mad at Joey over a stupid dream? I mean a dream can mean anything! I mean I was dreaming of making out with a girl and I'm straight! I guess she was trying to get her Sleeping Beauty dream or something. Anyways, review please!**

Seto and the other duelists, except the sixth duelist, stood around at the snack area. Melvin was watching the Blue-Eyes Lottery Machine choose the next two duelists to duel. Two balls landed in the mouth of the middle head and each appeared in the two other mouths beside it. A puff of smoke farted behind the machine. Seto gave a snort and a smile appeared. He had to admit, it was a little funny.

Everyone stared at Seto, who blushed and cleared his throat, so the employer could announce the two duelists dueling.

"Number 6 and number 1, Mai Valentine versus Marik Ishtar!" The Employer announced.

"It's Melvin now!" Melvin smirked deviously.

"I don't care who the hell you are, I'm taking you down!" Mai declared coldly.

"Goody, because you will make a perfect sacrifice for the shadows: a brave young duelist vowing vengeance. I can see it in your eyes. You don't seem happy with my little _present_ I have to your friend!"

"I guess that's all you're about, _hurting people!_ I'm dueling you and when I'm done wiping the floor with you, I'm gonna show you the real meaning of pain!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

Melvin walked on his way to the top of the blimp to the dueling stage. Mai shoved her deck into her duel disk and followed her opponent. She was not going to stop at this point until Melvin paid dearly._ Mai made sure of this._

As Mai was on her way to the dueling stage, she felt someone grabbing her by the arm. She swished her body around to find a desperate Joey.

"Mai, Melvin is not one you should mess around with! He almost killed me, and Atem two times, he could kill you too!" Joey warned Mai before she yanked her arm.

"I'm not gonna cower away from a fight, Shadow Game or not! I'm not gonna watch him hurt you, Atem, or the others and do nothing about it! I'm fighting him straight on! If I don't defeat him, you can at least know what he's capable of! He might summon the Winged Dragon of Ra. Even if I'm defeated, you can at least be prepared of what you and Atem will face when either of you fight him!" Mai declared fearlessly.

_"But-"_

"No _buts_! I'm not backing off from this fight! This is between me and Melvin!"

With that, Mai continued on her way to the dueling stage. Joey sighed, then said, "if you go, I'll cheer you head on." Mai turned around and gave a small smile before laying a kiss on Joey's cheek.

_"Thank you,"_ Mai thanked before giving a wink.

Joey felt a heat of blush and a rush of excitement. He made plans on setting a date after Battle City! Until then, he would watch Mai duel Melvin and pray that she would win somehow or this not turning into a Shadow Game. There could be a chance that Melvin might not challenge Mai to a Shadow Game, though that was most likely an impossibility.

Joey stood on the sidelines with Tea, Duke, Tristan, Seto, and Mokuba. Tea seemed to also be hoping that Mai would be able to survive this Shadow Game. There was no telling what Melvin had up his sleeve. Seto was willing to find out himself through this duel.

Mai and Melvin shuffled each other's decks. Mai shot Melvin a glare, who just chuckled darkly in reply before they walked on the opposite ends of the stage.

"Are you ready, Mai?" Melvin asked with the devious look in his eyes. He raised up his millennium rod and the sky turned black.

"What the hell?" Mokuba responded in surprise.

_"Is this supposed to scar me?"_ Mai mocked with a smirk up her lips. "I'm sorry, but this is just as scary as the clown from It."

"Oh, hell is about to open, my dear Mai! Just you wait!" Melvin smirked deviously. Him and Mai gathered five cards and Mai drew her first card.

"I summon Amazoness Swords Woman in attack mode!" Mai declared as a tan woman with a long sword appeared on the field ready to fight. A glowing line appeared that reached the area where Mai's heart was located, connecting to Amazoness Swords Woman. Mai gasped slightly at the appearance of the line._ "What is this?"_

"That is your life line, my dear Mai!" Melvin replied with a deadly smirk. "With this, you can feel the pain of your monsters and know the terror they're going through! 3000 years ago, the type of dueling dueling they did called diaha, was no different. Whenever a Ka monster is destroyed, the owner of the Ka would feel his monster's pain! Though, don't be confused with soul cards. Soul monsters are different from Ka monsters, because a Ka monster is a part of that person's soul while a soul monster is a Ka monster that serves his master!"

"I place one card face-down and end my turn!" Mai declared fearlessly, though there seemed to be tension.

"My turn!" Melvin smirked, drawing his next card. "I summon Makyura the Destructor!" A huge purple armored monster appeared with long huge claws. A glowing line connected Melvin to the monster. "As you can see, the same fate applies to me as well!"

"_Fate, destiny,_ if I was paid a penny for every moment I hear those words, I'd be richer than my ego," Seto said with as sly smirk up his lips.

"Oh, don't worry, you'll get what's coming to you, Kaiba. _Very soon!_" Melvin replied with his deadly smirk. "Makyura the Destructor, attack Mai's Amazoness!"

Makyura the Destructor came right for Amazoness Swords Woman before Mai declared, "I activate my trap card, Amazoness Archers!" The trap card was revealed and a bunch of Amazonesses teamed up with Amazoness Swords Woman and they all shot their arrows at Makyura the Destructor. "This stops your monster's attack and brings it's attack points down by 500! Now, I attack!" Amazoness Swords Woman slashed its sword through Makyura the Destructor's head, cutting it off its body. Right when it happened, Melvin's head cut right off and fell on the floor, almost giving Mai a heart attack.

_"OH MY GOD!"_ Mai screamed, backing up one step. Melvin laughed psychotically, then took his head and placed it back on his head.

"Mai, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Joey asked worriedly. He did not see Melvin's head plop off his body, because he nor the others were part of the Shadow Game.

"_Am I okay?_ His head just fell off his f***ing body!" Mai cried.

"_What?_ Mai, we don't see a damn..." Joey said before Seto interrupted.

"This is a Shadow Game!" Seto clarified. He looked up at the woman. "Mai, what you're seeing is a mere illusion driven by the Shadows. I went through the same thing when I played a Shadow Game against Atem. It's only _real_ when you make it to be real!"

"Seriously?" Mokuba asked as Seto nodded his head, remembering how he got the name on his left hand.

"Is there a way for Mai to avoid being hurt?" Joey asked.

"There isn't," Seto said coldly, showing his left hand with Atem's name on it. Joey and Mai gasped together. "It's been there for almost a year! Mokuba's name used to be on my right! You have to follow the conditions of the Shadow Game or there is no escape!"

"At least someone knows a thing or two! Then again, I suppose that's no surprise, your past life was the previous owner of the millennium rod!" Melvin said.

"Cut the crap and duel!" Seto snapped.

"Anyways, my Makyura the Destructor also has a special ability! I can play any spell or trap in my hand if destroyed!" Melvin said, looking through his hand. "_Which one! Which one!_ Ah, my trap card, Rope of Life! If one monster is sent to the graveyard, I can discard my entire hand and special summon it and it gains an extra 800 attack!" Makyura the Destructor appeared from Melvin's graveyard and attacked Amazoness Swords Woman, slashing it's claws right through the monster and leaving Mai with 3600 life points remaining. Three slash cuts showed on Mai and she fell on her knees in pain, screaming.

"MAI! WHAT'S WRONG?" Joey cried in agony. He glared daggers at Melvin. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER?"

"Just feeling the pain of the Shadow Game!_ Quite painful actually._ Once her 4000 life points are gone, dear Mai will be dead!" Melvin clarified.

"YOU CHEAPSKATE!" Joey shouted.

"Co'mon Mai! Don't give up! Don't give in to the illusions!" Tea cried to Mai. She was still panting, but kept her head leveled up.

The adrenaline kicked in and Mai was able to stand on her feet, despite the gore on her blouse. She knew it was just an _illusion_, so she wasn't too worried about the stain. It was time to get serious and defeat Melvin with everything she had.

"I summon Amazoness Chain Master, then lay one card face-down! That ends my turn!" Mai declared.

"That's the way ta do it!" Duke cheered.

"Very well! My turn!" Melvin said, drawing his next card. "I summon Viser Des to attack your monster!" A huge metal head drill appeared and connected to Mai's Amazoness Chain Master with each point of the drill on the side of Mai's head. "In three turns, your monster cannot do anything and will slowly be drilling through your Amazoness' head! It's quite a scene!"

The drill began turning and slowly drilling into the Amazoness Chain Master's head, giving Mai a loud scream as she grabbed each sides of her head. Red liquid began dripping from each side of her head as she screamed in pain. Mai couldn't stop the pain from deceasing. It was too harmful.

* * *

><p>Inside the clinic of the blimp, Serenity was still holding her boyfriends hand loosely. She soon noticed Atem's hands shaking and his puzzle glowing slightly. Serenity gasped, then Atem began groaning while slapping both his hands on the sides of his head. He seemed to be in so much pain, so much that tears were leaking through his eyes. Serenity couldn't figure out what was going on or why he was doing this.<p>

_"Atem?"_ Hanaski questioned in worry.

* * *

><p>The pain finally ceased as Mai began panting from the huge amount of pain she was struggling with. She saw the drill still going into her monster, but the pain was gone, though the blood was still pouring. <em>What could've happened?<em>

"Well, guess your _unity_ with your friend down there is helping cease your pain, though you're also bringing him harm as well!" Melvin smirked deviously while laughing darkly. "_I like it!_ Keep it up!"

"I activate my spell card Grave Arm!" Mai declared, activating her spell card while panting. "This sends one monster to the graveyard."

"Too bad! You cannot send my Viser Des to the graveyard while he's on his onslaught!"

"Who said I was going for your pain-in-the-head monster?" Mai asked with a sly smirk on her face. "I'm sending Amazoness Chain Master to the graveyard to activate her special ability! By paying 1000 life points, I can take one card from your deck!" Amazoness Chain Master threw its chain into Melvin's deck, taking out the Winged Dragon of Ra. It was now in Mai's hands.

"Way da go, Mai!" Joey shouted excitedly.

"Now, you can't f*** with me and I'm gonna make you suffer for hurting Atem like you're hurting me right now!" Mai shouted angrily.

"Do you seriously believe you can control a god?" Melvin asked with a dark laugh.

"As much as you can!"

"I'm afraid it's not as easy as that! You see, you have to possess a millennium item to control a god!" Melvin explained.

Mai glared at Melvin and asked, "you're f***ing with me, aren't you?"

"Indeed I am!"

"I place two cards face-down!" Mai declared. "Then, I summon Amazoness Fighter! That ends my turn!"

"My turn!" Melvin declared, drawing his next card. "I place one card face-down, then I'll have Makyura the Destructor attack your Amazoness!" Makyura the Destructor came right at Mai's monster before...

"I activate my spell card Amazoness Spellcaster! Now our monsters' attack points are switched!" Mai explained as Amazoness Fighter and Makyura the Destructor switched their attack points. Amazoness Fighter punched its enemy and it disappeared from the field. Melvin's head twisted almost around his head, blood leaking from his nose. He was left with 3600 life points.

"That was fun, but you walked right into my trap!" Melvin smirked as he revealed his trap card. "Last Will! When my monster's attack is zero, I can draw five new cards!" He drew five new cards from his deck to his hand. "Now, I activate my monster's ability, when it dies, I can activate a spell or trap from my hand! I play Nightmare Wheel!" Amazoness Fighter was now strapped to a huge wheel with spikes and a huge mouth on its way to eat him alive. "Now, with every turn, you will be depleted 500 life points! Any last words?"

"Thank you for the trap! I activate Dramatic Rescue! This allows me to return my monster card to my hand and replace it with another!" Mai smirked. Amazoness Fighter returned to Mai's hand and replaced with Harpy Lady. She danced on the field with a sly smirk.

"ALRIGHT!" Joey shouted excitedly.

_"Let's kick some butt!"_ Harpy Lady encouraged Mai, who nodded. Harpy Lady was Mai's soul card.

"I also play Elegant Egotist to summon the Harpy Sisters on the field!" Mai declared as the two Harpy Sisters appeared beside Harpy Lady. I sacrifice all three of them to summon out the Winged Dragon of Ra!"

The sky opened and a huge floating ball appeared in the sky. Everyone stared at it in confusion. _This was the Winged Dragon of Ra?_ _Why was it in a golden sphere?_ Then, the huge golden sphere disconnected itself and changed into a flaming winged dragon, letting out a giant roar. Everyone sighed in relief.

"Wow, for a second there, I thought there was some bullshit that included summoning the Winged Dragon of Ra!," Joey said.

"You think just because you summoned Ra that you can defeat _me_?" Melvin asked with a dark chuckle.

"I got your monster, so I've got myself covered!" Mai smirked, then narrowed her eyes at something. "THIS HAS GOT TO BE A F***ING JOKE! I CAN'T EVEN READ RA'S ABILITIES? WHERE'D YOU GET THIS FROM, EASTERN ASIA?"

"The Egyptian God Cards are one of a kind! When they were made, they were made in Ancient Egyptian text! That's why they're so rare! Kaiba was able to know Obelisk's abilities, because he translated his and Atem has..._ a little help_ from the pharaoh!"

"Don't worry about it, Mai! Just attack him!" Joey told Mai.

"But I don't how his attack points! It has question marks! That means his abilities give him his attack points!" Mai said, sweat pouring from her head. She couldn't read this at all, even the name was in Ancient Egyptian. She sighed. "I place one card face-down and end my turn!" The Winged Dragon of Ra disappeared instantly from the field, much to Mai's shock. _"What?"_

Melvin laughed aloud in victory, saying, "if you would've been able to read the descriptions, you would have known that Ra goes to the graveyard at the end of your phase!"

_"Shiiiiiiiit,"_ Joey muttered.

"I summon Biser Shock!" Melvin declared as what seemed to be the bottom part of Viser Des appeared on the field. "This makes all your face-down cards return to your hand!" Mai's face-down returned to her hand. "Attack the woman directly!" Biser Shock strapped Mai on her arms and legs and began shocking her with full force. Mai screamed on the top of her lungs as her life points depleted to 1300.

_"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAI!"_ Joey screamed in agony.

"LEAVE HER ALONE, YOU MONSTER!" Tea shouted in pure anger.

"Believe me, girl, this woman's pain is _nothing_! Just her screaming is a clear sign that she's still alive! This is only the beginning of her suffering!" Melvin smirked sickly as Mai began almost limping, while still being held up by Biser Shock. The pain was too much for her to take. "I'll also use Monster Reborn to bring the Winged Dragon of Ra!" Everyone gasped as Melvin activated Monster Reborn and the Winged Dragon of Ra appeared on his side. "Now I sacrifice all but one life point and destroy you!" The Winged Dragon of Ra's attack points were now 3599 and Melvin's life points was 1.

_"Holy shit,"_ Duke muttered in pure shock.

Mai stared at the dragon in fear with sweat barely pouring. Joey couldn't let the love of his life be wiped from existance! He made the most desperate attempt to use his body as a shield to protect Mai, but someone was holding him back as he was about to make a run for it.

"_NO!_ LET ME GO! _MAI!_" Joey screamed, being held and pinned by two strong arms. He watched in horror as the Winged Dragon of Ra blew its breath of fire at Mai and she screamed a fearsome scream of torture as she felt the fire burn through her skin.

* * *

><p>Inside the clinic, Atem finally sat up, eyes still closed and a third eye glowing on his forehead as he screamed in pain. Serenity was scared and panicked greatly as she heard her boyfriend scream on the top of his lungs. Hanaski was also panicking and began shaking Atem.<p>

"Hold on, Atem! We're here! What's wrong?" Hanaski cried desperately, but Atem kept screaming in pain until he finally fell off the hospital bed. Everyone gasped and walked to where Atem fell at.

_"ATEM!"_ Serenity screamed, clasping her hands over her mouth. Atem was filled with third degree burn patches on his arms, legs, body, and face. She began shaking tremendously.

_"Serenity, i-it's gonna be al-"_ Hanaski said, trying to calm the girl down before she screamed.

Serenity screamed as loud as she could, so she wouldn't forget to breath.

* * *

><p>Mai fell right on the ground with barely a scar on her, except some second degree burns all over her body. She fainted into the black and Joey watched with tearful eyes. He was kept still by whoever stopped him from blocking Ra's attack on Mai. Melvin chuckled darkly as his millennium rod shined at Mai.<p>

_"PENALTY GAME!"_ Melvin shouted as his rod glowed, then faded. He faced the others watching Mai in horror. "You have twenty-four hours! If the girl is not saved until then, she will die permanently and not even her little friend with the millennium puzzle can save her!"

Melvin left it at that before the gang heard a scream from Serenity. Joey's heart raced and knew his sister was having a panic attack.

"Let me go now!" Joey shouted at the guy holding him, which was Seto. He nodded as they both headed for the door of the blimp. Seto and Joey found Serenity crying bitter tears and Atem on the floor with patches of third degree burns. _"Son of a bitch."_

"Did he just take Mai's damage onto himself?" Seto asked in rage before his fists began shaking and punched the wall. _"That asshole!"_

"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!" Serenity cried as Joey held his sister in his arms. Seto carried Atem back onto his bed, then pulled the covers over him.

"Why'd you stop me from saving Mai?" Joey asked.

"You really want to know?" Seto asked with a serious glare. Joey gave one back. "You're one of the only people I consider a true duelist. I'm not gonna let you die over your girlfriend." Joey was shocked from hearing this, then slowly nodded. _"Tell anyone and you're dead, Wheeler."_

"I won't."


	32. Duel With the Future

**I warned you guys it was gonna end up being bloody lol. Anyways, the next duel won't be so bad, since Seto Kaiba always gets the easy duels. Seriously, since when does he ever get the hardest duels? I mean even the Shadow Game he had was easy! I guess he's just that awesome. Review please!**

Atem woke up feeling burning pains all over his body that felt as if he was in hell and just came out of it. It was so bad, he could barely move. He slightly turned his head and noticed Mai on the hospital bed with second degree burns. She didn't look so good as far as Atem could tell.

_"Hey buddy!"_ Joey greeted, who was watching over Atem's right with Serenity next to him, seemingly shaken up and in shock. Atem was worried.

_"What happened?"_ Atem asked in a croaked voice.

"We heard Serenity screaming and found you on the floor looking like you were cooked over a fire," Joey explained as Atem then noticed the bandages on his arms, legs, and almost his whole body.

_"Mai must've faced Ra,"_ Atem said.

"Why'd you do that?" Seto asked, almost seemingly furious. He was across from Joey.

_"After calming Yugi down, heard she was dueling Melvin and I knew she would be facing... _alot._ So, I decided to make it where the pain wasn't so bad by using the millennium puzzle to take the pain to myself instead of her."_

"You can do that?" Joey asked in amazement.

_"It has the power of unity. The puzzle is connected with each of you and each of you is a piece of my heart,"_ Atem explained with a soft smile.

Seto sighed, then placed his hand on Atem's bandaged hand. Seto knew in his heart if that was Atem out there and he had that power, he would do the same. While thinking this, he suddenly noticed the name on his left hand was beginning to fade. How was that possible? _Unless..._

Seto snatched his hand from Atem's bandaged one and the name on his left hand became visibly black again. Joey showed a chuckling smirk as Seto shot the blond a glare.

"Hey Kaiba, I think you're okay. You should probably get ready for the next duel, eh?" Joey asked.

"If the sixth one appears!" Seto said.

_"She'll come,"_ Atem promised, then slowly began getting himself up on the bed.

"What do you think you're doing?" Seto asked with glaring eyes.

"This one's not a Shadow Game, that I'm positive about, and I'm all rested up, so I'm gonna watch the duel," Atem as Serenity ran up to get a wheelchair.

"You've got third degree burns and-"

"And I'll be fine! It doesn't hurt that bad!" Atem argued as Seto shot a serious glare at him. "_Okay, it hurts like heck,_ but I'd like to see a good duel and I'm not just gonna lay back while my friends get all the glory in watching you kick butt!"

"I'm not paying your medical bill if you end up getting worse."

Atem helped himself onto the wheelchair, then looked up at Joey and asked, "you think you can give me a couple of beers?"

"Sure thing!" Joey replied before running off, then...

"Oh second thought, I think instead, I'll take rum, but not straight. I think I'll take it with hot coco or something!"

"On it!"

Joey ran to the kitchen part of the blimp to prepare his friend some hot coco mixed with some rum. Serenity wheeled Atem to the top of the blimp and used the elevator built into it. She seemed to be in huge shock and slightly recovering from it. Atem felt extremely bad for putting his girlfriend through this. Though, she wanted to watch him duel bad and was even stubborn about going. Though, Atem never anticipated for the duels to end up this fatal.

_"I'm sorry for this. If I would've known the duels would end up this bad, I..."_ Atem apologized before...

"Don't be!" Serenity snapped, trying to seem brave, but her arms were shaking and she was feeling very hot. "Is it hot in here or is it just me?"

"You're trembling," Atem spoke plainly as soon as the two made it next to the stage. Serenity crossed her arms and closed her eyes tightly.

"Hey Serenity, you okay?" Tristan asked as Serenity looked at him and shook her head.

"I need you to watch over Serena. She just came out of a panic attack. If she gets an upset stomach, seemingly faint, or not breathing, take her out of here immediately!" Atem told Tristan, who nodded in reply.

"I heard about what happened. I'm so sorry."

"I'm trying to be strong!" Serenity cried as she covered her face with two hands._ "But I can't take anymore pain anymore! My boyfriend's getting hurt and there's nothing I can do about it!"_

"Serena, I'll be fine. This isn't the worst thing that's happened," Atem assured with a smirk.

"He's right. Your man's been through worse than this," Tristan said.

_"I know,"_ Serenity sighed, then rubbed her shoulder. Tristan was able to notice as the skin showed on the end of Serenity's shoulder of a white line.

"What's that?" Tristan asked as Serenity covered the line and shook her head.

"Serenity's been through alot with her dad as a child. She... _doesn't like talking about it_," Atem explained as Tristan nodded.

Seto walked up to the stage as the sixth duelist appeared from the shadows of the stairs. It was Ishizu, of course, with a white tunic and head covering. Joey appeared behind the woman with the hot coco and brought it to Atem, who nodded at his friend. Ishizu noticed Melvin, who seemed very dumbfounded.

_"Ishizu!"_ Atem heard Marik cry from inside his mind. He narrowed his eyes, not letting Marik use him again, even though he would be controlling a wounded body with third degree burns.

"I think I'm gonna need more rum after this," Atem said plainly before taking a sip of his drink.

"So, you finally appear," Seto smirked as Ishizu kept her face plain. She looked at Serenity, who was still shaken up and showed a soft smile.

"Are you okay, Serenity?" Ishizu asked the girl. She gasped slightly. "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. I know you, because of my millennium necklace. It tells of the past and future events. I promise Atem will be just fine,_ especially if he's rude enough to mock the gods._"

Atem snorted out a chuckle as Ishizu shot him one glare before entering the duel stage. Her and Seto shuffled their decks.

"So, future woman, you think you can defeat me?" Seto asked.

"I see defeat in your future, Seto Kaiba. After all, I can see the future of _anything_, even a duel," Ishizu explained.

"It's official, you're screwed," Atem teased as Seto shot his friend a glare.

"Do you know this woman?" Serenity asked Atem.

"She's the one who gave Seto Obelisk the Tormentor and is helping with giving Yugi his memories back. She's also related to Marik. Speaking of the devil, what's up between you two?" Atem demanded.

"He's the reason I'm here. My brother Marik is in grave danger... of himself. I came here to save him!" Ishizu said.

"_Brother?_ Dang!" Atem responded.

"I'm afraid your _little Marik_ is gone for good! His spirit is gone from me!" Melvin explained.

Ishizu glared at Melvin with eyes of hatred. Atem could see that Ishizu was wanting Melvin to disappear from existence and to find her little brother again. From what Atem could guess, Ishizu was probably clueless at the fact that Marik was staying inside Yugi's soul room _temporarily_. Atem noticed Yugi's spirit appearing, along with Marik, who appeared in a spirit form. Atem shot Marik a glare.

_"I... guess you're mad huh?"_ Marik asked as Atem slowly curled his fingers until only his middle one shows._ "Can I at least watch my sister duel?"_ Atem sighed, then rolled his eyes before looking up at the duel.

"I know what card you will draw, Kaiba! You cannot hide from destiny," Ishizu said with her smile.

"Why does everyone always talk about _destiny_? I thought you were into Ancient Egyptian Mythology, not Buddhism!" Seto insulted.

"How is this related to any type of _Buddhism_?" Ishizu asked glaringly.

"You mean besides _destiny_ and _reincarnation_ stuff?" Atem asked sarcastically with a sly smirk on his lips. _"It's almost like it was made in Japan."_

"Whatever, I'm just gonna start things off. I summon Vorse Raider in attack mode!" Seto declared as his monster appeared on the field. "Then I lay one card face-down and end my turn!"

Ishizu drew her next card without even checking to see what it was. She smiled, then said, "I summon Keldo in defense mode. I also activate Michizure of Doom. I believe you know what this card does."

Seto glared in annoyance as Atem started laughing and saying, "wow, first turn and she's already getting to ya!"

"Shut up!" Seto snapped as he and Ishizu showed their hands.

"Discard Polymerization and Kaiser Glider," Ishizu said as Seto sent both cards to the graveyard.

"I choose you to discard your second and fourth cards!" Seto smirked, trying to attempt for Ishizu to discard her best cards. Atem was still snickering over that move.

_"Kaiba's screwed,"_ Marik smirked._ "I know my sister's deck and I know how she plays. I played that game once against her and lost big time."_

_"I don't know. I'd be interested in dueling Ishizu,"_ Yugi said.

_"Yeah, but your puzzle keeps her from predicting the future, that's why she can win this easy."_

_'Whatever, I'm just gonna watch this and see how long it takes before Seto goes home crying like a baby,'_ Atem smirked as Yugi snickered and Marik was slightly taken aback.

_"I guess this will take some getting used to. Not really used to talking to people by hearing their voices inside their minds,"_ Marik said.

Ishizu and Seto placed the rest of their hand inside their deck and shuffled it before drawing five new cards. Seto drew his next card with a smirk written on his face.

"My Vorse Raider attacks your Keldo!" Seto declared as his monster went for Keldo and clawed him to pieces. Ishizu sent her monster to the graveyard. "Did you predict that?"

"Actually, _I did._ You destroying my Keldo is part of my strategy," Ishizu explained with confidence.

_"She ain't bluffing! Ishizu is not one to underestimate. She has a way of f***ing with her opponents,"_ Marik smirked, seemingly amused.

_"So I noticed,"_ Yugi said.

"You don't scare me, Ishizu. We make our own future!" Seto smirked confidently. "I place two cards face-down and end my turn!"

Ishizu drew her next card and placed it in her hand without even looking at it. She said, "I summon Mudora and equip him with Sword of Dagora, which increases his attack by 500 points! Attack Vorse Raider!" Mudora appeared with a sword in his hands before coming for Vorse Raider.

"I reveal my two face-downs!" Seto declared as he revealed his folded cards Shrink and Crush Card. "Shrink decreases Vorse Raider's attack in half, which activates my Crush Card! This gets rid of all your monsters with 1500 or less attack points!"

Ishizu sent all her cards with monsters 1500 or below attack. Marik snickered confidently, which told Atem that Ishizu must've predicted this as well. From what he could gather, Ishizu's strategy is similar to Pegasus' by the fact that he depended on his millennium item. The only difference is instead of peeping into people's mind rooms, this one peeps into the future. The only weakness were the ones with millennium items.

Seto was left with 2950 life points remaining due to Ishizu's attack in order to activate his combo. He glanced at Atem, who seemed to hold an anxious facial expression. _Was there more to Ishizu's plan than met the eyes?_ Seto was going to have to find that out on his own.

"I place one card face-down and end my turn!" Ishizu finished. Still looking as confident as before.

Seto drew his next card and a smirk appeared on his face. He declared, "I summon Des Fernal Imp in attack mode to attack you directly!" Des Fernal Imp appeared, then ran out to attack Ishizu. She took the attack and was left with 2400 life points remaining. "Looks like I'm getting the upper hand! Fat chance you will ever take me down! I will crush you!"

"You're wrong, Kaiba. I have seen your future and its chosen for your loss."

"I wonder what Ishizu's strategy is," Hanaski wondered.

"I don't know. It seems to me that Kaiba's getting the upper hand while Ishizu's best monsters are lying in her graveyard," Joey said plainly. Atem's eyes widened, then showed a snicker.

"Kaiba, you're so screwed," Atem chuckled as Seto looked at him and shot daggers.

"What did you say?" Seto asked with a glare.

"You're screwed! I know Ishizu's strategy and..." Atem said, then snickered again. _"You're so screwed."_

"SHUT UP! WE'LL SEE WHO'S _SCREWED_!" Seto shouted as Atem rolled his eyes.

"Wow, you really are good at this," Marik smirked impressively.

_'Don't talk to me, I'm still mad at you,'_ Atem glared plainly as Marik sighed, biting the corner of his lip, knowing that he deserved it.

"I reveal my trap, Virus Cannon!" Seto declared, revealing his trap. "You have to choose ten spell cards and put them in your grave!"

Ishizu did just that and still held her confidence. Atem was trying so hard not to laugh, because he knew what Ishizu was going after. Even Yugi and Marik were laughing slightly at this. Though, nobody could see them, so they felt comfortable in laughing aloud.

"So, still think you have a chance? Your deck is dead as far as I'm concerned," Seto smirked cockily.

"No, I predicted this would happen. You have fallen right into my trap," Ishizu said as Seto noticed Atem's snicker and trying not to laugh. _Was this possible?_ "I reveal Exchange of the Spirit. This switches our cards in our deck and graveyard."

Atem couldn't take it, he busted out laughing, along with his friends as Seto said,_ "FUUUUUUUUUU-UUUUUUUUUU-UUUUUUUUU-UUUUUUUUUU-UUUUUUUUUU-UUUUUUUUUUU-UUUUUUUUUUU-UUUUUUUUUUU-UUUUUUUUUUU-UUUUUUUUUUUCK!"_ Everyone laughed even harder after that. Even Serenity was laughing her guts off. Tears were leaking out of everyone's eyes and it wasn't helping Seto one bit.

"I summon Kelbek and end my turn," Ishizu declared with confidence.

Seto and Ishizu already switched their cards in their graveyard and deck. Alot was going though Seto's mind like how he was going to defeat Ishizu. There was no way he was going to lose to this woman! _No way!_ He drew his next card, which was Virus Cannon and hoped that maybe this would help him somewhat out of this situation.

"Trap! Muko! That card you just drew goes to the graveyard," Ishizu declared as Atem began laughing again.

"I won't attack this turn. I end!" Seto said, his spirit seemed to be dropping somewhat.

_"He's so screwed,"_ Marik smirked.

_"I think Seto's starting to lose his confidence,"_ Yugi said as Atem nodded.

"I summon Zolga," Ishizu declared.

Seto looked through his deck, sweat pouring. Atem shouted, "guess you're screwed! Hey, we could always duel our rematch on the next Battle City when you're _not_ dueling against a fortuneteller that can screw your deck!"

"HELL NO WAY! I'M WINNING THIS DUEL IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!" Seto shouted with pride in his heart. He noticed Atem smirking in reply. He used reverse psychology to lift Seto's spirits. "JUST WATCH!"

"My turn!" Ishizu said as she drew her next card. "Zolga attacks your Imp!" Zolga flew at Des Fernal Imp and destroyed it completely. "Now, Kelbek direct attacks on the player!" Kelbek flew out at Seto and attacked him directly, leaving him with 1350 life points remaining. "I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"I go!" Seto declared as he drew his next card.

"Trap!" Ishizu said, showing her face-down Muko. Seto sent his card to the graveyard.

"I place one card face-down!" Seto declared, then glared at the card. He still was not sure how to defeat Ishizu, if she could see his future. Seto wasn't going to let Ishizu keep him from his rematch with Atem. NO WAY!

"I place one card face-down!" Ishizu declared.

"Then I reveal my face-down Soul Exchange! Your three monsters are mine!" Seto smirked before Ishizu's three monsters appeared on his side of the field. "I sacrifice all three monsters to bring out Obelisk the Tormentor!" Obelisk the Tormentor appeared on the field with its mighty fist and tremendous roar.

_"Now Kaiba really is screwed. Ishizu must have Blast Held by a Tribute!"_ Marik said as Atem's eyes widened. He knew if Seto declared his monster to attack, he was done for. Though, the humiliation was funny, Atem didn't want his friend to lose this duel. _This wasn't even a fair duel to begin with!_

Atem then remembered something. He looked up and shouted, "SETO!"

Seto turned his head to face his friend with glaring eyes and asked, "what other insults are you gonna gather?"

"Take my puzzle and use another strategy! Ishizu can't see your future if you're holding my millennium puzzle!" Atem explained as Seto rose two eyebrows. Atem tossed the puzzle to Seto and he put it around his neck. Ishizu gasped, _she never predicted this!_

_"Use me, Seto!"_ Seto heard his soul card cry to him from his hand. _"Sacrifice Obelisk!"_

Seto smirked and declared, "I play Silent Doom and revive one monster from my grave!" His monster appeared on the field from his graveyard. "Then I sacrifice these two to summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Ishizu gasped aloud, slightly trembling. She did not predict this either! Because Seto wore the millennium puzzle, her predictions were not longer used with Seto. She did not see this, because she did not see Atem, possessor of the millennium puzzle, giving it to Seto. The millennium necklace would only see the future, except those who held millennium items.

"I write my own future, Ishizu! Blue-Eyes, attack Ishizu!" Seto declared as Blue-Eyes White Dragon let out a huge lightning blast and wiped the rest of Ishizu's life points. _"I win."_

"And I accept that," Ishizu said, then walked down the dueling stage. "Though, with me, I took a light of hope. I'll never forget this duel!"

"Just no more talking about things that aren't even _related_ to Ancient Egyptian mythology," Seto glared before walking off the stage and giving Atem back his puzzle. He then wheeled Atem back to the clinic.

"That sure was fun. I should watch you duel again sometime," Atem smirked teasingly.

_"Hmph."_


	33. The Family of Darkness

**Here's the next chapter. Normally, I'd wait a few days or so before posting another chapter of At-Em-Oh, but I'm dying to write this chapter. This is where Ishizu explains everything and why Marik is the way he is.**

**Also, I highly recommend you read Out For Blood coewritten with Aqua Girl007. I promise it's not the stupid cliche bad fan fiction vampire story. I know what you're thinking "how's this any different from the other bad fan fictions that's twilight based?" What's different is that compared to those versions, this one is written by two authors WHO KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING! Review please!**

The tournament of the final six was over and two people were severely wounded. Atem was still healing from his third degree burns, but he was able to walk. Ishizu was willing to give him some of her... what she called _Ba_ to heal Atem a little bit. He had to hand it to the woman that she was very generous. Though, the pains still hurt and he still needed crutches. Ishizu assured that Atem would be better by the time he was to duel again.

Very soon, Atem heard a moan from Ryan, who passed out from his duel. He sat up on the bed and gasped slightly when he saw the sight of Atem. He also seemed to cringe a bit, not that Atem could blame him.

_"You look like shit,"_ Ryan muttered.

_"Thanks,"_ Atem replied sarcastically. "Fortunately, it wasn't the evil spirit's fault. We've got bigger problems."

"So I noticed. _Ouch._"

"Ryan, you're awake!" Hanaski cried excitedly. "Are you okay?"

"I feel like I fell twenty stories high," Ryan replied.

"At least you're better than me and Mai," Atem said, pointing his face at Mai, who was still unconscious and holding second degree burns.

"_Damn._ Who's the new enemy?"

"Melvin, Marik's second personality. Apparently, Marik has some sort of _Second Personality Disorder_," Atem replied. "He plays dangerous Shadow Games that completely destroys you."

"Wow, just... _wow._"

"And Serenity's close to being in shock. She had a panic attack not too long ago," Hanaski informed right before Serenity, Tea, Duke, and Joey entered the room. Ishizu also happened to return right behind them.

"Hey, Ryan's awake!" Joey said excitedly. "At least there's some good news."

"Joey, I know you want me to be strong, but I can't take it anymore!" Serenity cried, covering her face with her hands. "Everyone is getting hurt from these Shadow Games! This is not the world I wanted to see!"

Atem sighed, feeling bad that his girlfriend was getting hurt like this. Ishizu seemed to be feeling bad, but also sympathetic. She took the girl into her arms and comforted her.

"As humans, we cannot hide from reality. We live in a world where wars and sufferings are common. These events have been repeating themselves for thousands of years. As a tombkeeper, it is my job to protect the items that hold true dark powers that take the eyes of man, the millennium items. Though, there are those who are willing to give out open arms and comfort those in pain," Ishizu said with a soft voice as Serenity parted and slowly nodded with such sad eyes.

Atem sighed as Marik's and Yugi's spirit appeared next to Atem. Marik noticed Melvin walking passed the door and narrowed his eyes. His hand was barely touching Atem's arm, but then looked behind himself at Yugi with pleading eyes. Yugi stared at the floor and knew what Marik was _wanting_. A sigh escaped his lips and he nodded. Marik smiled and took Atem's arm before his spirit disappeared and Atem's eyes turned hallow.

_"Ishizu,"_ Marik, inside Atem, called Ishizu. _"I want to know how Melvin came. How long was he inside Marik? How was his father killed?"_

Ishizu nodded, then replied, "I suppose it's better if you all knew the truth. You see, Marik, Odion, and I grew up together. Of course, Odion was adopted into the family. We became tombkeepers. Father was a very cruel man. He always demanded for himself and he would continually hurt me, Odion, and Marik... _mostly Odion._ Marik looked up to Odion alot in his time. He carried the tattoo on his back, which tells the secrets to the Pharaoh's memories. Marik was chosen, because he was the first born _son_. To be brief, he never wanted to carry this duty in the first place. There was too much pressure placed upon him. Odion was willing to give out the duty instead, but Father refused. Marik started growing more hate and more pressure got to him. He would often see things that weren't there. I was worried and so was Odion."

Marik could not believe what he was hearing. He saw things that weren't there? Why was he never told? Why would his family keep this from him?

"I suppose I should've told him, but I was no different from this girl," Ishizu said, facing Serenity. "I held pressure that overtook my life and it was too much, so I would often panic and developed a series of phobias. I even got to the point of talking to myself half the time. I was just as mentally sick as Marik. One day, Marik wanted to go to the surface. He was never allowed there, except me and Mom to shop for groceries and what nots. I kept refusing, because I was afraid of Father's wrath, until I decided that Marik deserved to see the world with his own eyes. We both snuck into the outside world and Marik _loved_ it. I've never seen him so happy in my life, but... that happiness ended when we returned home and found our father whipping Odion for letting Marik go to the surface. Marik stopped him and took the blame upon himself. Our father took out a knife and plotted to kill Marik. I was about to stop my father until something... _happened._ _He_ came, Melvin. He pinned Father against the wall with the millennium rod and cut his flesh open until there was nothing left, but blood and guts. I was in deep shock. Odion finally woke up and Marik was back to normal, but he saw what was left of our father and began seeing things again. He... _He thought he saw _Yugi_._"

Marik was speechless. So the person he saw _wasn't_ Yugi? It was an illusion in his mind? Yugi was telling the truth? He himself was the true murderer? It took alot for Marik to continue questioning.

_"W-Why didn't you tell Marik?"_ Marik asked, trying to swallow that huge lump of truth being crammed into his mind.

_"I did,"_ Ishizu replied quietly before tears dribbled down her cheek and she wiped them. "The rod blinded his heart from the truth and he kept believing that the Pharaoh killed his father to keep his sanity. There's nothing more I can say. While my necklace reveals the truth, the rod controls it."

Marik let Atem take control again, putting in his mind of what he was just told. Atem was annoyed and glared at Marik, who disappeared into Yugi's soul room. Yugi sighed and shook his head. Atem began understanding that Marik was being told the truth of how his father died and was now was depressed about it. There must've been alot for the poor boy to handle.

"You said you were also _unstabled_. How did you cope with it?" Serenity asked.

"The millennium necklace tells the future. It helped me with alot of my phobias, so I discovered many of the things I feared were not as fearful as I came to believe. Sometimes facing what you fear the most is a way to overcoming it, because_ the unknown_ is the root of all fears," Ishizu replied, taking off her millennium necklace. "It is time I faced the unknown future and do my duty as a tombkeeper." She handed the necklace to Atem and he took it.

"Thank you," Atem thanked as Ishizu nodded, then left the room.

_"The millennium necklace,"_ Tea muttered.

Atem stared at the piece of jewelry in his hands, then looked up at his girlfriend so close into shock. She cried many tears and fears were overwhelming her. He closed his eyes and saw the future. Time was ticking for Serenity and very soon she was to find herself in her deathbed from her fears. _Atem would not allow that!_

Serenity felt a piece of jewelry placed around her neck. Very soon, flashes of the future to come flashed before her eyes. She saw herself at the alter with Atem in a suit and tie and her in a bright white dress, she saw two soul cards of Yugi and Atem, she saw a tomb crumbling to the ground, she saw the blimp taking off for Domino City, and every futuristic event that was to come. The only flashes she couldn't see were ones including Atem for the next year or so, except a few fainted flashes, Marik's future was also a slight chance to come, and so was everyone else's. It was no wonder Ishizu was so keen into winning the duel against Seto. The chances of saving Marik was almost 0 to nothing. The only hope was of the unknown, which lied in Atem, whom she could not see from this to a year or so.

"Serenity?" Joey said. Serenity lightly touched the jewelry around her neck, which held the shape of an eye. _It was the millennium necklace!_ Atem gave Serenity the millennium necklace!

"We're gonna be okay!" Serenity cried happily before she held Atem in her arms. _"Thank you."_

"What'd you see?" Atem asked.

"Us on the alter! It was beautiful!" Serenity cried happily with tears of joy.

"This can help you with much that's going right now. If Ishizu's right about the unknown being the root of all fears, maybe this can help with your panic anxiety. If you knew what's gonna happen before it did, your panic attacks won't be as easy to trigger."

"Not a bad idea," Ryan smirked with folded arms.

"Huh, never thought of that," Joey shrugged.

"Think you're gonna be okay?" Atem asked Serenity.

"Yep!" Serenity replied, clutching onto the chain holding Atem's puzzle. "I love you."

"I love you too, Serena."

"You guys better rest up for tomorrow," Tristan suggested as Atem nodded.

"Co'mon Joey," Atem told Joey before they left the room. Serenity followed Atem to his room and slept on the couch. Joey was finally able to sleep in his own room with Hanaski sleeping on the couch. Ryan was able to sleep in his room as well with Duke sleeping on the couch. Tea slept in Mai's old room, since Mai was in the clinic room in a coma.

Atem stared at the ceiling with alot on his mind. Marik and Ishizu, their family had been protecting the millennium items for 3000 years, the keys to Yugi's memories. Marik had been blinded by a mental sickness to realize that Yugi never killed his father, but he himself. If Marik would've been living in society, would all of this have happened? Would Marik still be dealing with Melvin?

_"Can't sleep?"_ A voice asked. Atem sat up and saw Yugi and Marik sitting at the bed side.

"Alot on my mind," Atem replied in a mutter.

_"I won't be able to sleep after today,"_ Marik admitted, then clutched his legs and stared at the floor._ "Atem, I am so so sorry."_

"And it takes you now to apologize? It was like what? Six hours? It's kind of a little late," Atem glared with folded arms.

_"I know, I know, I deserved it. I really thought Yugi killed my father, but it was Melvin,"_ Marik admitted.

"Not to mention you betrayed my trust. I thought you were my friend, but you're a complete d***headed traitor!"

_"I screwed up."_

"_Oh,_ you did more than that. You mind raped me, you went behind my back, you f***ed with your brother, you mind raped my friends, and just when you couldn't be any worse, YOU ALMOST F***ING KILLED ME!" Atem shouted, hoping he didn't wake Serenity up. Luckily, she was a heavy sleeper.

_"I know!"_ Marik said, then a sigh escaped from his lips. _"Though... I lied to Yugi. I wasn't going to kill you. I couldn't."_

_"Wow, that makes me feel f***ing special! How about we throw a cake while we're at it?"_ Atem shouted sarcastically while throwing his hands in the air. He dropped on the bed and clutched on the pillow, coming close to ripping it in two.

_"You're the first friend I ever made,"_ Marik finally said as Atem sat up on his bed again, still glaring. _"You and Ryan you..."_ A sigh left him as he covered his face with his hand, then slowly revealed half of it. _"I enjoy spending time with you guys! You just seem to _meet my style_ more than anyone else! I know I betrayed your trust, but... I don't wanna lose what we developed these last few days."_

_"You haven't, Marik,"_ Yugi said, a soft smile appeared on his lips. _"We still like you, just not when you're trying to kill us."_

Marik smiled, then was given a group hug by Yugi and Atem. For the first time, Marik felt somewhat _special_. He then heard something from across the hall. Atem decided to go check out what's going on. They followed the shadow and found Melvin in the clinic room over Odion. He had the millennium rod in his hand and untwisted the cap off, about to stab the poor fellow.

"You can forget about doing that, jackass!" Atem said, grabbing onto Melvin's wrist.

"Well, well, if it isn't my old pal!" Melvin smirked before throwing Atem across the room. Marik helped Atem up.

_"I want to face him, please?"_ Marik asked. Atem sighed, then nodded. Marik took over Atem's body once more. _"Don't you dare lay a hand on my brother, Melvin!"_

"_Oh?_ So now my alter ego finally appears to come to the rescue. I thought Odion was just your pathetic slave!" Melvin smirked deviously.

_"He was protecting me from you, but now it's time I avenged my father, you son of a bitch!"_ Marik snapped.

"You wanna fight? I'm up for a good Shadow Game."

_"Wait, brother's body is still healing from the Shadow Game with Mai!"_ Yugi warned Marik.

"Actually, I'll help!" Ryou declared, stepping forward with a brave glare written on his face. "Atem is still recovering from third degree burns! I, on the other hand, am in good shape to kick your ass!"

_"Okay, since Atem is still suffering from third degree burns, and I know you're not gonna want to miss a chance to kick his ass, how about we duel and I'll use Ryan-"_ Marik said before being interrupted.

"Ryou!" Ryou corrected.

_"Whatever! _Ryou_, will be my handicap! I'll just choose what cards he will play and what nots!"_

"Very well! I'd hate for Yugi to lose a vessel to the Shadows before I duel him, so I'll let you use your pathetic friend as your handicap!" Melvin agreed before him, Marik, and Ryou walked up to the duel stage on the blimp to start their duel.


	34. Night Before the Final Battles

**Here is the ultimate shadow game of Melvin versus Bakura. I guess you guys expected Ryou to participate in this one. No Yami Ryou will be around, because I thought Yami Bakura helping out Marik defeat the guy wanting to destroy Yami was kinda stupid and made him seem a little too soft. I don't know! I just thought it'd be better if Ryou was the one dueling as his good self. Review please!**

Melvin, Ryou, and Marik, inside Atem's body, walked up to the duel stage on the blimp. Everyone was asleep, so nobody was aware of the duel that was taking place. Serenity especially was unaware, since Melvin and Atem possessed millennium items. This duel was one that nobody ever predicted.

Both Melvin and Ryou shuffled their decks and shoved them in their duel disks. Marik, controlling Atem, stood next to Ryou with two crutches. Atem's body needed them, since he still held third degree burns, which prevented him from moving at all.

"You ready, Marik?" Melvin asked with his huge evil smirk.

_"_To kick you ass?_ I'm more than ready!"_ Marik glared, then took the two crutches and held them like a cane while hanging onto Ryou's shoulder.

"Very well, but remember that Ryou's the one who will take the damage!"

_"I know that! I'll go first!"_ Marik snapped as he looked over the cards in Ryou's hand. _"I place one card face down!"_ He pointed at the card and Ryou placed it into the Spell and Trap Card Zone. _"Then, I summon Goblin Zombie in attack mode! That ends my turn!"_

"Very well!" Melvin smirked, then held his millennium rod in the air and the sky turned black. "Just remember, this is a Shadow Game! The loser's body will be sent to the Shadows!"

"Marik and I accept it!" Ryou declared with glaring eyes.

_"Ryou!"_ Ryan said with anxious worry.

_'Don't worry about me! It's my duty to protect the Pharaoh at all costs, even if I have to live my life in the Shadows for eternity!'_

Ryan knew he couldn't stop Ryou from playing this Shadow Game anyhow. It had already started and if he forfeited, he would disappear into the Shadows instantly. Ryan just hoped in his heart that Ryou would win this game.

Melvin drew his next card and declared, "I also place one card face-down, then I summon out Drillago in attack mode!" A monster appeared with drills on its hands, feet, and body. "He attacks your Goblin!"

_"I activate my trap!"_ Marik shouted as Ryou pressed the button to activate the trap card. _"Fearful Earthbound! Each time your monster attacks, it takes 500 of your life points!"_ A huge mouth appeared from under Melvin as Drillago came at Goblin Zombie and drilled right into the monster, wiping it from the field. _"Now the trap card becomes effective!"_ The mouth under Melvin began closing its mouth.

"He, nice! I activate my spell card, Remove Trap!" Melvin declared as he activated his spell card and the mouth under him disappeared from the field. Ryou was left with 3500 life points. The top of his arm began to disappear.

_"Holy shit!"_ Marik gasped, seeing the arm underneath his hand disappear from existence. He almost tripped before dropping the crutches and holding onto Ryou by the shoulders with two of his hands. _"Your arm just disappeared!"_

"Oh no!" Ryou responded.

_"Ryou!"_ Ryan cried aloud, scared out of his mind. He then noticed that his own arm disappeared as well. _"Oh shit! It effects me too?"_

_'I guess it does,'_ Ryou replied in his head. He never expected his brother to be as much involved, but wasn't surprised either. He slightly expected this to happen when agreeing to play the Shadow Game. He normally wouldn't take chances with endangering his brother, but if anything was to happen to Atem or Yugi, a bigger villain than Melvin would conquer and destroy the world. This was a huge risk Ryou had to take.

"Looks like the Shadows already have gotten a taste of you, Ryou! As your life points deplete, so does your entire body!" Melvin explained with a sickly smirk.

_"Didn't expect that,"_ Marik said.

"That's why I decided to be your handicap," Ryou said with furrowed eyebrows. "I'm not risking the Pharaoh's only vessel to be eaten by the Shadows!"

_"_Right_,"_ Marik muttered. _"I believe it's my turn!"_ Ryou drew the next card and Marik took a peek at it. _"I place two cards face-down!"_ Ryou placed two cards in the Spell and Trap Card Zone._ "Then, I summon Gernia in defense mode!"_ A strange monster covered by its own skull on the upper part of its body and horns appeared in a defensive position. _"That ends my turn!"_

"Then, I go!" Melvin smirked as he drew his next card. "I activate Card of Sanctity, which let's us draw until we have six cards in our hand!" Melvin and Ryou drew until they held six cards.

_"Seems you're really wanting Ra so badly!"_ Marik smirked with insult in his eyes._ "Then I activate my face-down spell card Dark Tutor! This forces Ra into your hand!"_ Melvin searched through his deck and pulled out the Winged Dragon of Ra. _"Now, I activate my trap, Multiple Destruction! This sends your hand to the graveyard, including the Winged Dragon of Ra! Not only that, but this is also Ryou's Occult Deck, which helps alot if Ra's in the graveyard! Though, I also lose 100 points of damage with every card sent to the graveyard, but it's worth sending Ra to the grave!"_ Ryou was now left with 2900 life points remaining and parts of Ryou were disappearing.

_"I swear, if Marik sends you to your grave, I'll never forgive him!"_ Ryan grumbled.

_'He's avenging his father and protecting his brother. I know if that were you, this situation would be no different,'_ Ryou said as Ryan made a straight line across his lips. He knew deep inside that his brother was right.

_"Also, I believe it's my turn!"_ Marik smirked as Ryou drew the next card. _"I fold one card on the field, then sacrifice Gernia to bring out Puppet Master!"_ A zombie-like monster with puppet strings tied around its fingers appeared on the field._ "And with that comes his special ability!"_ Bellow the fingers of Puppet Master were three monsters: Headless Knight, Gernia, and Dark Necrofear._ "Of course, I have to pay 1000 life points, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to pay!"_ More of Ryou's body began disappearing.

_"Is this right to gamble our friend's body?"_ Yugi glared at Marik.

_'I can't think of another strategy with this stupid Occult deck!'_ Marik argued as Yugi glanced at the field fearfully.

"My turn!" Melvin declared as he drew his next card. He then began laughing aloud. "It's over, Marik! You're done for! I activate Monster Reborn to bring back the Winged Dragon of Ra!"

_"Oh shit!"_ Marik muttered as the Winged Dragon of Ra appeared on the field with its brilliant wings.

"I was afraid of this," Ryou muttered.

_"What do you mean?"_

"I've seen all three gods 3000 years ago. I know their powers. To be brief, we're about to see shit happen."

Melvin smirked as he declared, "I activate Ra's special ability by distributing all of my life points, except 1, and giving it to Ra!" His whole body began to deplete and The Winged Dragon of Ra now had 3999 attack. Melvin's body was left with only his left eye.

_"RYOU!"_ Ryan cried aloud as his brother looked at him with a soft smile.

_'It's okay, Ryan. The Pharaoh's safe and so is Atem. That's the only thing that matters,'_ Ryou replied.

_"You _knew_ he would lose?"_

_'Marik is skilled, but he's in bigger trouble and fighting against Melvin will be very hard. His mind is in too much shock to think straight. I knew he would lose from the start.'_

_"Ryou."_

The Winged Dragon of Ra blew a hunk of fire all over Ryou's field and cooked Ryou to a crisp. He began screaming bloody murder as Marik watched in horror. Yugi screamed Ryou's name as he began turning into ashes and the only thing that was left was the millennium ring. Tears slowly leaked out of Yugi's eyes.

_"He's... gone,"_ Yugi whispered as Marik fell to his knees, which were burning him like the fire that cooked up Ryou.

_"You... YOU MONSTER!"_ Marik screamed as Melvin laughed manically.

"You should've known better than to think you had any chance against me!" Melvin smirked with his pathetic smirk. Marik glared with vengeance in his eyes.

Not thinking logically, Marik jumped at Melvin and grabbed the millennium rod. The fact that he was in a fragile body never came to his mind. He kept fighting for the millennium item and avenge his father's death. Before he knew it, Melvin threw him across the blimp and he fell off the duel stage, passed out. Yugi gasped as the millennium puzzle flew off of Atem's neck and crashed into pieces.

_"BROTHER!"_ Yugi screamed, but Atem's body was unconscious and the puzzle was in pieces, making it impossible for Marik or Yugi to take over again.

Melvin chuckled oh so darkly as he unscrewed the cap to the millennium rod. He picked up Atem with one arm and aimed the sharp point of the millennium rod to his heart and never hesitating to stab and kill him. Though, before Melvin could succeed in this mission, the rod was grabbed by _another person_, who was not going to let any blood shed.

Serenity grabbed onto the rod tightly and fighting her hardest against Melvin. Though, she could not see Melvin's attack on Atem from the millennium necklace around her neck, she did see his blood spill everywhere. Serenity sought the courage to protect her loved one, even with the slightest chance she could save him. This was one fight she had to win!

Melvin laughed mockingly as he used his body, while him and Serenity still had the millennium rod, and pushed the girl against the wall of the glass dome. Serenity shot daggers into the psycho killer's eyes as Melvin continued to chuckle in a dark and mocking way. He slowly put his lips to Serenity's ear.

"You think you can win a fight against me, girl?" Melvin asked in a sickly manner.

"No, but I won't let you hurt my boyfriend!" Serenity spat angrily.

"I guess I should've expected this when I heard he gave you the millennium necklace. Ishizu was frail, just like you, then the millennium necklace gave her some bone. Though, even with this kind of bone, it's only... _limited_," Melvin whispered in a dark tone before Serenity felt his tongue around her ear.

Without hesitation, Serenity shoved the rod against Melvin's chest, causing a major wound, then pushed him away before running to Atem's side. Serenity picked up the millennium ring, that was on the dueling stage from the duel with Ryou, and placed it around Atem's neck. Atem's future was unknown, but hopefully the ring would protect Atem, at least that was what Serenity hoped.

Melvin took Serenity by the back of her collar and pinned her on the stage before enclosing his mouth around her lips. She tried to scream, but she couldn't, except through her nose. Nobody could hear her cries, she was defenseless. Fear overpowered her and she feared for the worst, especially when Melvin's hands were placed around the button to her shorts.

_"I can do far worse to you,"_ Melvin smirked sickly as he slowly unbuttoned Serenity's shorts, then jumped off the stage. "I'll leave that as a little warning the next time you mess with me!" With that, Melvin walked out the door.

Serenity stared up at the sky frozen stiff. She was so scared, she couldn't move one muscle. With all her strength, she screamed out a wailing cry before she found herself turning blue. She fell off the stage and landed on her caffs while buttoning her shorts. She continued to scream her wailing cry while covering her face.

_"Serena!"_ Serenity heard Atem cry aloud. He must've woken up from the scream. The girl felt warm arms around her as she continued to weep and cry. "What happened? Tell me!" Serenity couldn't find the strength to talk. All she could do was scream and cry.

A stream of people came: Tea, Joey, Seto, Hanaski, Duke, Mokuba, Ishizu, and Tristan. Atem remembered the attack on Odion and knew he couldn't save him as of now. He turned to Ishizu.

"Ishizu, Melvin's after Odion!" Atem warned as Ishizu gasped and ran to Odion's room.

"What happened?" Tristan asked after Marik let Atem take control.

"I... _I don't know_," Atem replied. "Melvin was trying to kill Odion and Marik took control of me again. That's the last I remember. I don't think he knows either."

_"Marik?"_ Tea gasped.

_"Wait..."_ Atem said, then noticed the millennium puzzle in pieces and the millennium ring around his neck. "Serenity, what did you see? Where's Ryan?"

Serenity shook her head and continued to cry her heart out. Seto sighed sadly and said, "whatever happened, she's in too much shock to be talking now. I also suspect Melvin has alot to do with it."

"That son of a..._ ugh!_" Joey snapped. "First Mai, now my sister!"

"Will she be okay, Seto?" Mokuba asked Seto.

"She'll be fine," Seto promised before a sigh escaped his lips. "Co'mon! I'll take your girlfriend back to bed!"

Seto picked Serenity up bridal style, since Atem was too wounded to carry his girlfriend to bed. He got up, gathered the pieces to the millennium puzzle, and used his crutches to carry himself back to his room where Seto was taking Serenity. The rest of the gang returned to their rooms to get some sleep, while Ishizu protected Odion from Melvin.

Serenity was still in tears, even after she returned to Atem's room in safely. Finally, she muttered,_ "he tried to kill Atem."_ Seto and Atem were frozen stiff at that point. Atem clutched onto the millennium ring, then placed it on the side table. _"He then tried to rape me."_

_"Damn,"_ Seto whispered as Atem clutched onto his legs and placed the pieces together.

_"I'm so sorry, Serena,"_ Atem muttered, feeling completely horrified. Serenity began crying again, burying her head in her pillow.

"There's nothing you could've done!" Seto said as Atem sighed deeply.

"Can I sleep for one night without knowing that there's danger around every corner?"

"I'm not sure," Seto replied with crossed arms. "But if you don't sleep right now, you won't be up to even kill that son of a bitch. You should get some sleep." Atem sighed, then nodded before digging himself into his covers. "I'll be sure that Melvin doesn't try anything on either you or your friends. I doubt you'd be in your right mind if that was to happen."

"Thanks."

Seto nodded before closing the door. Atem drifted off to dreamland and was able to finally catch up on some sleep that night. This night was to be a hard night for Atem and his friends.


	35. Rising to the Finals

**Here's the next part, which leads to the finals of Battle City. Now, things are gonna really start heating up. Of course, you guys already knew this. I think everyone here really wants Melvin to die after attempting to rape Serenity. TIME TO GET SERIOUS! Review please!**

Seto woke up the next day, feeling anxiously tired. At least his brother had a more decent sleep than he did. After what happened last night, Seto felt a heap of pressure being carried upon his shoulders. He held more hate toward Melvin that would could surpass, even Obelisk's wrath. It seemed that everyone wanted to get a hold of Melvin: Joey, Atem, and now himself.

Seto walked inside the cockpit of the blimp. They were cutting close to making it to the island where the final battles of the Battle City Tournament would take place. Seto could feel satisfaction in his smirk before leaving the cockpit and having his waiters prepare breakfast for everyone. They would be hungry after the duels yesterday.

* * *

><p>Atem woke up and got himself dressed for the finals of Battle City. He was prepared to show Melvin no mercy after last night. Serenity was also up and dressed. She kept staring at her hands while biting her bottom lip. Atem came to her side and put an arm around her for comfort.<p>

"You alright?" Atem asked as the girl nodded.

"I'm fine. At least you're safe," Serenity said with a soft smile before being given a light kiss by her boyfriend.

"Thanks for the save. I'm sorry about what happened."

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault and I did what I had to do. I know you'll do great when you go against Melvin."

"Thanks," Atem replied with a soft smile, feeling Serenity's warm hand against his. "We should get some breakfast."

Serenity smiled brightly and hopped off the couch before her and Atem headed to the snack room where their breakfast was being served. Melvin, of course, had a spot to himself while the others sat at two other tables, one for the girls and the other for the boys. Everyone had their own little conversations, since they didn't want to talk about the tournaments due to how violent it was becoming.

Atem's burns were still visible, but he was able to walk normally now. Seto was thankful about that, since he wanted his duel with Atem and one that didn't include injuries. Seto was getting tired of the duels ending up with injured people. _When will these duels ever turn out to be a _normal_ duel?_

It was a matter of time before the blimp landed on solid ground on the island. It was filled with tons of rubble from when Seto hired men to destroy the military facility taking place there. The breeze felt sensational with the smell of the salty ocean, but there was also a hint of ash too. Seto could still feel the tension of this place where the finals to Battle City would take place

"Wow, this place is a dump!" Duke commented as soon as he stepped off the blimp.

"I know huh?" Joey agreed, peering around the area.

"Some place to host the finals at," Atem smirked at Seto with folded arms. It then turned into a frown. "I'm still curious why you want the finals to take place _here_. Knowing your ego, I was expecting the finals little more... _richer_."

"I have my reasons," Seto replied with an intensive glare. Atem stared at his friend with a worried glance. Seto faced everyone with a serious look. _"I would like everyone to step into the Duel Tower!"_

Everyone looked up at the tall tower build at the front of the island. There were double doors where they were to enter. They all entered inside the Duel Tower and noticed a huge elevator at the front, a flight of stairs next to it, and a high ceiling above their heads that would extend 20 stories high. Everyone was amazed by this structure.

In the middle was a huge pot filled with four balls with the numbers 1-4. Everyone stared at the pot with wonder.

"According to the Finals rules, to decide the next duels, each of the finalist will choose a ball randomly from inside this pot! Each ball has a number on it! Please choose wisely, because this will effect with who your opponent will be!" The employer declared.

_"Balls?"_ Joey questioned.

"Originally, I was planning on everyone dueling to decide who would be dueling whom, but Atem convinced me that doing that seems more of an unfair way of deciding than to just choose with BINGO balls," Seto explained with a hint of annoyance. _"Said I was only using it to cheat myself to dueling against him."_

__"Knowing you're Seto Kaiba with an anxiety of dueling Atem, I'm not surprised," Duke smirked teasingly as Seto shot daggers at him.

"Anyways, it's time to choose our balls," Atem said as Joey ran up to the pot and began pointing at each one.

_"One potato, two potato, three potato, four... Five potato, six potato, seven potato more..."_ Joey counted as Seto rolled his eyes and sighed.

"How did you even make it this far? Just choose a damn ball already!" Seto shouted.

_"And suck 'em too,"_ Atem smirked as Tea whacked him on the head with her free hand. "OW!"

"You're gross!" Tea glared.

"Hey, I'm countin' here!" Joey yelled before counting again. _"I.. choose... you!"_ He pointed to a random ball and a huge smile appeared. "HA! We have a winner!" Just then, Melvin took that ball that Joey chose and made a dark chuckle. "HEY! I called dibs on that ball!"

"Just choose the ball closest to you, Joey!" Atem suggested.

"But what about my potato song?" Joey asked.

_"Just choose a damn ball already!"_ Everyone shouted.

"Okay, okay, geez," Joey sighed before taking out a random ball. Seto and Atem got out their number balls. Joey was 3, Atem was 1, Seto was 4, and Melvin was 2.

_"Now, this computer will decide on who will be dueling whom!"_ Mokuba explained as he turned on a computer and numbers began popping up on the computer speedily, then stopped. According to the computer, 1 was dueling 4 and 2 was dueling 3. 2 and 3 were to be the first ones to duel. _"According to the computer statistics, 2 and 3 will go first, I guess that's Joey and Melvin!"_

"Well, this should be interesting," Melvin smirked as Joey gave him a nasty glare.

"I'll make you pay for what you did to Mai and for trying to rape my sister last night!" Joey shouted.

"I guess you caught onto our little _fun_ last night?"

Joey's head turned boiling hot and he was ready to duel Melvin. Atem felt fearful for his friend dueling Melvin. From what he knew, Melvin was not one to take lightly. He had the Winged Dragon of Ra and from what he learned from his friends, Melvin was more into slow torture. He also learned from Marik that Melvin burned Ryan as well and sent him to the Shadows. He might send Joey to the Shadows or worse...

Atem grabbed Joey by the shoulder and warned, "you don't have to duel if you don't want to. You know as well as I do that that guy is _dangerous_. He could kill you!"

"I'm not backing down, Atem! I've got this! I'm gonna send Melvin a one way ticket to hell!" Joey promised before shrugging his shoulder from Atem's hand.

_"At least he'll be a great ginny pig,"_ Seto smirked as Atem shot daggers at him.

"In case you haven't figured it out already, people are getting killed!" Atem shouted as Seto kept his glare. "You're such an asshole!"

Everyone entered inside the elevator and went up to watch the duel with Joey and Melvin.


	36. The Shadows of Death

**Here's the next chapter. This will be the duel with Joey and Melvin. Let me warn you, this is gonna be really intense. Good news, not as bad as two chapters ago. By the way, I'm not kidding, the hand from Joey's graveyard sticking up its middle finger really did happen. This only proves, this manga was meant for adults! Review please!**

Joey and Melvin shuffled each other's decks before giving it back to the other. Joey promised himself to not show Melvin any mercy. If this turned into a Shadow Game, Joey was willing to take the pain just to give this guy a piece of his mind. As long as he taught this guy the true meaning of _pain_.

Melvin was prepared to put Joey through extreme and horrifying torture he's never experienced throughout his whole life. Melvin knew the _perfect_ Shadow Game for Joey to play against him. This would be one he would remember for a long LONG time. This, Melvin was sure of.

"Let's get started, shall we?" Melvin asked aloud as he lifted his millennium rod in the air and the sky turned black.

"Not good!" Tea said.

"I'm glad Hanaski and Ishizu stayed back in the blimp to watch over Mai," Atem said with a soft smile. Serenity looked up at Joey, biting her bottom lip.

"I'm coming for you, Marik!" Joey shouted. Serenity gasped and froze in fright as her millennium necklace began to glow for a mere second.

"What did you see?" Atem asked as Serenity ran beside the stage.

"Joey, if you duel, you'll lose!" Serenity warned Joey as he turned and faced his sister. _"Please don't die!"_

"I'll be fine, Sis. You just watch," Joey smirked with his game face. Serenity nodded, then walked back to her boyfriend's side.

"I'm sure Joey will be fine," Atem said with unsuring eyes.

_"I don't need the necklace to know you're lying,"_ Serenity muttered as a tear rolled down her cheek. She looked up and watched her brother.

"I'll start things off! I play Panther Warrior in attack mode, then place one card face-down! That ends my turn!" Joey declared as Panther Warrior appeared with a long sword in its hand and a green cap around its back. A glowing line appeared on Joey's chest, which connected to his panther warrior._ "What the hell?"_

"This is the same Shadow Game your girlfriend played! In this game, you will feel the pain of your own monsters! Though, compared to your dear Mai, if you lose, you will end up with the land of the dead!" Melvin explained as Joey stood with pure confidence. He chuckled darkly. "Are you ready to prepare for that?"

"I'm ready for this, Melvin! BRING IT ON AND DRAW YOUR DAMN CARD!"

"Very well," Melvin smirked before drawing his next card. "I summon Helpoemer in attack mode! Then, I place one card face-down and end my turn!"

"Joey!" Tea cried out to Joey as he faced his friend. "_Please_ win this duel! _Please!_"

Joey smiled, then put a thumbs up. Atem put one hand on Tea's shoulder to comfort his friend. Tea turned to face Atem with wearying eyes. He nodded, then Tea let out a huge sigh, feeling helpless of the situation. At this point, there was nothing anybody could do to stop this game. Even Serenity couldn't stop it.

Joey drew his next card, then declared, "I summon Rocket Warrior in attack mode!"

"Then I activate my trap!" Melvin smirked as Joey gasped. "Hidden Soldiers! Because you summoned your Rocket Warrior, I can summon out one monster from my hand! I think this should be familiar: Viser Des!"

"HOLY SHIT!" Atem cried aloud. He placed two hands against the sides of his head, remembering the painful headache from when Mai dueled Melvin.

"That's the monster that hurt Mai!" Tristan said aloud.

"I activate Viser Des' special ability and use this on your Panther Warrior!" Melvin smirked as Viser Des hooked on Panther Warrior's head and the drills began drilling through the monster's head. "Your monster's attack drops by 500 points and you will suffer and unbearable pain!"

_"YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_ Joey screamed as he pressed his hands against each side of his head with blood oozing through his fingers.

"JOEY!" Tea screamed with fear in her voice.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Atem shouted angrily at Melvin.

"_Suffer Joey!_ The more you suffer, the closer you will be to entering the Shadows," Melvin smirked deviously before laughing darkly and evilly.

Joey panted heavily while clutching onto the sides of his head. His eyebrows pointed toward his nose, feeling the warm blood in his fingers. He slowly stood on his feet while everyone gasped at this amazing move. Joey was not planning on giving up that easy or letting Melvin get the best of him.

"I activate Rocket Warrior's special ability! Time to put a hole in your stomach!" Joey shouted bravely as Rocket Warrior changed into its rocket form and drove right through Helpoemer, bringing its attack down to 500. Melvin gasped while falling on his knees with his hand over his stomach, blood oozing from his fingers. "How do _you_ like feeling the pain? Panther Warrior also attacks!"

Panther Warrior, being attached by Viser Des, attacked Helpoemer, slashing its sword across its opponent's stomach, showing a slash on Melvin's stomach. More blood poured from Melvin as Helpoemer disappeared from the field and left him with 3000 life points remaining. Everyone cheered joyfully for Joey's counter attack.

"Nice going, Joey!" Tristan cheered.

"Good job!" Serenity cried happily. She closed her eyes and took in the temporary happiness. She knew the true future of the duel's outcome, but was prepared to take in as much happiness as she could.

Melvin then began to laugh oh so deviously. He responded, "that felt _sensational_! Now, I activate Helpoemer's special ability! When it's destroyed, it goes into _your_ graveyard instead of mine!"

"What?" Joey gasped as Helpoemer instantly ended in his graveyard. A hand then appeared from his duel disk, which made the blond jump. _"Oh f***!"_

"Helpoemer's other ability kicks in! Once per turn, he takes one of our cards from our hand to the grave!" Melvin explained as the hand snatched one of Joey's cards from his hand and placing it into the graveyard before sticking out its middle finger.

_"Okay, why do I get the feeling that card hates me?"_ Joey asked himself as the hand returned back in his duel disk.

"Just like your cards, you will slowly be walking towards the Shadows!" Melvin smirked sickly before drawing his next card. "I play one card face-down, then summon out Gil Garth in attack mode, then end my turn!"

"Melvin's not attacking. You think it might be a trap?" Duke asked his friends.

"I have a bad feeling it is," Atem replied honestly.

"You can do it, Joey!" Serenity cheered, clapping her hands. She wanted her brother to still have hope in his heart despite his future failure.

Joey drew his next card. He raised two eyebrows, then peered at his hand before declaring, "I play Baby Dragon in defense mode, then change Rocket Warrior to defense!" Baby Dragon appeared on the field in a defensive position and Rocket Warrior copied the same position.

"Before I forget, Viser Des tightens its grip on Panther Warrior's skull some more!" Melvin pointed out as the drills from Viser Des drilled into Panther Warrior's head.

_"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_ Joey cried in dire pain, clutching on his head as more blood oozed from his head.

_"JOEY!"_ Everyone cried in agony, except Serenity, who was biting her finger nails.

"And I'm not done yet!" Melvin smirked deviously as the hand from Joey's graveyard appeared and took a card from the blond's hand and sent it to the graveyard. Joey gasped, seeming to have lost an important card. "Well, looks like you just lost something important!"

"SHUT UP!" Joey yelled aloud.

"But I'm not done yet," Melvin smirked even deeper. "I activate my permanent trap, Coffin Seller!" His face-down card revealed as Atem gasped. "Every time one of your cards goes to the graveyard, you lose life points! _Now, how fun is that?_"

Joey felt a huge shock from his duel disk as his life points dropped to 3300 and he fell on his knees. He began breathing hardly in and out. His vision was starting to turn blurry and turning slightly dizzy. He knew this was due to him losing blood through this Shadow Game. _He couldn't pass out!_ NOT NOW!

"CO'MON JOEY! DON'T GIVE UP!" Serenity screamed in terror.

Joey turned to his sister, whose eyes were filled longing. He smiled and gave a confident nod. Serenity showed a bright smile as Joey stood up on his feet, not willing to give up.

"I place two cards face-down! Then, I sacrifice Gil Garth to summon out Legendary Fiend! Now, once per turn, its attack rises 700!" Melvin explained as Joey glared in frustration. "I end my turn!_ You're dead Joey!_ I can feel your soul drifting into the darkness!"

"It's a good thing he's psycho, because that made no sense whatsoever," Tristan said with a glaring face.

"My turn!" Joey glared as he drew his next card.

Serenity looked up at her brother with furrowed eyebrows. Tristan walked next to the girl and asked, "you okay, Serenity?"

"I'm fine. It's Joey I'm worried about," Serenity replied, slightly touching the millennium necklace.

"You really see Joey's defeat?" Tristan asked as Serenity nodded. "That's pretty brave for you to watch your brother with this situation going on."

"I want to be strong for my brother."

"I reveal my spell card Question!" Joey declared with a huge smirk on his lips. "We have to guess the name of the monster card on top of our opponent's graveyard. If you guess right, nothing happens and it stays in your graveyard. _I'll_ go first!" He smirked, pointing his thumb at himself. "You sacrificed Gil Garth, so he's in your graveyard!" Melvin checked in his graveyard and sure enough, Gil Garth was on top of his graveyard. "Now, you have to guess the card on top of _my_ graveyard!" Melvin began sweating nervously. "Can't guess can ya? That's because your dumbass monster took a random card from my hand, so you wouldn't know what it is!"

"Nice going, Joey!" Tristan cried happily.

"YOU DID IT!" Serenity shouted joyfully.

_"You son of a bitch!"_ Melvin spat.

"Sorry, wrong answer, which means your monster won't be summoned, but mine is!" Joey smirked as Jinzo was instantly summoned on his side of the field in attack mode. It used its lasers from its eyes to destroyed the trap cards from Melvin's trap and spell card zone. "Also, it's my turn!"

"YOU MOTHER F*** BASTARD!"

"_Thanks._ That's why Ma married Dad."

_"Daaaaaaamn,"_ Duke responded.

_"You didn't know?_" Atem asked in surprise. "Even Serenity knew about that before she wore the millennium necklace."

"My Jinzo attacks your Legendary Fiend!" Joey declared as Jinzo attacked Legendary Fiend with a huge electric energy blast. Melvin was shocked with pure electricity and left with 2400 life points remaining.

"Go Joey!" Tea cheered gloriously.

"Hey Seto, you think Joey will win this duel?" Mokuba asked.

Seto focused his eyes on Joey, not sure what to answer. He did hear Serenity telling about Joey's future loss to Melvin. Though, it did seem the duel was in his favor. He eyed Serenity, who was cheering for her brother, but there seem to be a hint of _preparation_ for a future loss. There was no doubt that Joey's defeat was only mere seconds or minutes away. _It was counting down._

"Shit's about to happen," Seto replied to Mokuba. His eyes lid up and watched the duel from his eyes.

"Here I come, Melvin!" Joey shouted with a huge smirk on his lips. All his monsters began to attack Melvin directly.

"I reveal my spell, Dark Wall of Wind!" Melvin revealed as a dark whirlwind surrounded him, preventing Joey's monsters from attacking.

_"DAMN!"_ Joey cursed at himself.

"Before you end your turn, it's time for Viser Des to attack your Panther Warrior some more!" Melvin smirked deviously as the drills from Viser Des drilled into Panther Warrior's head and Joey began screaming in pain, more blood seeping from his head, while a large hand appeared and took another one of his cards from his hand.

_"JOEY!"_ Atem cried, about to run to his friend in agony before Serenity stopped him with two hands on his left arm.

"You know, I'm considering of what to do with you when you receive your Penalty Game! Perhaps making you suffer the same pain you're giving me?" Melvin smirked deviously as Joey shot a glare, his vision turning blurry once again and feeling dizzy. _He couldn't pass out now!_ "My turn!" He drew his next card and showed his sickly smirk. "I summon Lava Golem!"

"WHAT? But it's a level 8 monster! You can't just-" Joey glared before being cut off.

"Who said I _wasn't_ using sacrifices. This monster's special ability activates. You see, I can sacrifice two of your monsters to summon it to _your_ field!" Melvin explained as Joey gasped and found Lava Golem on his side of the field and trapping him in a steel cage. He also found Jinzo and Baby Dragon gone from the field, since they were used as sacrifices to summon Lava Golem.

"WHAT THE F***ING HELL?"

"This monster scorches the earth, melting every turn, which causes its controller great pain! You lose 700 life points once every turn!"

_"Oh shit!"_ Duke responded in surprise.

"I place one card face-down and end my turn!"

"Don't give up, Joey!" Serenity cried aloud. "I know I said you're going to lose, but it's not because your life points reached zero!" Joey looked at his sister with confused eyes. "It was by default!"

_"Default?"_ Seto questioned with raised eyebrows.

"You're strong! You _can_ win this duel!" Serenity shouted.

"If it wasn't because of his life points, then what was it?" Duke asked as Serenity shook her head. He then got the idea. _"Oh god!"_

"My turn!" Joey declared. He began realizing his sister's predictions meant that he was so tired and hurt from the Shadow Game that he probably passed out, but he wasn't willing to give up. Now, that he knew the reason for his loss and his key to victory, he was willing to surpass the millennium necklace's predictions or die trying. "I'll use your Lava Golem to attack you!"

_"Oh?"_

"I'm not afraid to attack!" Joey shouted bravely. "FIRE UP, GOLEM!" Lava Golem blew a wisp of fire right at Melvin, who held a slight smirk.

"I activate my trap, Revive Monster! Due to this trap, I can return one of my monsters from the field to my hand and special summon a level 4 monster!" Melvin declared as he revealed his trap card. Viser Des returned to Melvin's hand, then resummoned to Melvin's field. "Now, Viser Des becomes a perfect wall for three turns against Lava Golem! By the way, _Lava Golem's ability!_"

Joey felt melting lava being poured onto his body and he screamed,_ "YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_ Burning from the melting lava. He developed tears from the horrible pain.

_"JOEY!"_ Atem screamed in terror. He never felt so scared in his life. He knew this pain Joey was going through..._ it was what he went through during Mai's duel._ Joey was now left with 2600 life points left.

"Helpoemer also takes a card from your hand!" Melvin smirked as a huge hand appeared from Joey's graveyard, taking a card from his hand and placing it in his graveyard. "Now, your turn ends and it's my turn!" He drew his next card with his devilish smirk. "I fold one card, then activate my spell card Machine Duplication! This allows me two summon out two of the same monsters on my field!" Two more Viser Deses appeared on the field. Joey gasped in fear. "Now, their effects activate!" Two Viser Deses hooked onto Lava Golem and Rocket Warrior. "If you want the pain to end, you can surrender!"

"Not good!" Tristan said.

"Is Joey out of options, Atem?" Tea asked.

"There's a way," Atem replied with furrowed eyebrows. "I'm just worried of how much pain Joey can take."

"My turn!" Joey declared as he drew his next card. A smirk appeared on his lips. "I play my magic card Graceful Dice! This can increase any monster's attack by 500 points, times the number I roll!" A little man appeared on the field with a die in his hand. Melvin glared with frustration as the little man rolled the die and it landed on a six. "This increases your Viser Des by 3000 points, which destroys your two annoying Viser Des, since your permanent trap can only work on monsters with 500 points _or less_!"

_"You-"_ Melvin growled in annoyance as his two other Viser Deses were destroyed, including his permanent trap.

"Now, I'll sacrifice my monsters to summon Gilford the Lightning!" Joey declared as he sacrificed his monsters and Gilford the Lightning appeared on his field. He no longer had to deal with Lava Golem dripping lava on him.

"NICE GOING, JOEY!" Tristan cried out. Joey felt proud, but was still feeling slightly dizzy from his previous loss of blood.

_"Don't give up, Joey!"_ Serenity cried out happily.

"Gilford destroys all monsters, no matter its defenses!" Joey smirked as Gilford the Lightning used its mighty sword and destroyed the last of Viser Des, leaving Melvin with 2400 life points and a huge shock and slash from the pain of his monster, leaving a huge burnt slash on the side of his waist.

_"Marik's gonna be feeling that when he gets back in,"_ Atem muttered, smirking slightly.

"Now, time for Gilford to get a crack at ya!" Joey smirked as Gilford the Lightning ran for Melvin to attack him directly.

"I'll give you a congrats for lasting this long, but now_ it's over!_" Melvin smirked as he revealed his face-down card. "I play Nightmare Mirror!"

"_SHIT!_ HOW MANY F***ING TRAPS DO YOU HAVE? ARE YOU LIKE ODION OR SOMETHING?"

"This trap card makes it to where your ally attacks you directly!" Melvin explained as the mirror from the trap showed Joey's reflection and Gilford the Lightning attacked the reflection. Joey felt a burnt cut across his chest area as his life points dropped to 1600.

"_F***!_ I'm gonna be feeling that in the morning!" Joey complained, placing his hand around the burnt slash.

"Of course, I have to choose one card to place in my graveyard!" Melvin said as he placed one card from his hand to his graveyard.

_"Damnit!"_ Tristan cursed.

"Don't worry, Joey still has a chance!" Duke said.

"Co'mon Joey!" Serenity cheered loudly.

"Now, it is time for you to meet Ra! I play Monster Reborn!" Melvin declared as he activated his spell card.

_"Aw shit,"_ Duke responded.

"But isn't Ra's attack and defense depend on the attack and defense of the monsters used as sacrifices?" Tea wondered as everyone's eyes lid up.

_"Not really,"_ Serenity muttered. From her millennium necklace, she already knew _all_ of the Winged Dragon of Ra's abilities.

The Winged Dragon of Ra appeared on the field and it instantly turned to flames. Everyone gasped at this sight. Serenity bit her bottom lip, holding Atem's hand to comfort her boyfriend. Joey trembled in fear from the wrath of the powerful flaming god. It was filled with firey furry.

_"Joey, hang on!"_ Atem cried out, trying to sound brave, but knew he wasn't.

"I will be dueling you or Seto Kaiba, two of the reincarnates of the former Pharaoh's of Egypt!" Melvin smirked devilishly as Atem and Seto gasped at the same time. "_Surprised?_ Don't be! There's a reason Yugi chose Atem, he not only has a heart of _darkness_, but is also his reincarnate! That is why you both possess a strong _unbreakable_ bond! It is common for reincarnates to have opposite personalities of their ancient spirits!"

"Is this some kind of a joke?" Seto asked with glaring eyes.

"I'm afraid not! You are also the reincarnate of the former Pharaoh of Egypt after Yugi! After Yugi transferred his soul into the puzzle, his cousin Pharaoh Seth took the position!" Melvin explained as Seto's face turned blank, feeling the vibration of his left hand once again. "I guess some _relationships_ never cease after 3000 years! Yugi and his cousin Seth were just as close as you and Atem are! Grew up together and did _everything_ together! Best of friends! Your problem is that you're not willing to _accept_ that, which is why that mark on your hand still exists!" Seto covered the name on his left hand and shot daggers at Melvin. "Of course, if I duel Atem, it will be _Yugi_ who will be truly playing against me, so it's one or the other!"

"I'll send you straight to hell!" Seto glared with firey eyes.

"I'd like to see you try!" Melvin smirked with confidence before turning back to Joey. "I can pay 1000 life points to wipe your monsters from the field! You could say this is a _one win_ for me!"

"You might be able to wipe out my monsters, but you will have to snatch my life points out of my cold _dead_ fingers!" Joey shouted boldly.

"You forget, this is a Shadow Game, meaning that you will feel the firey burning of your monsters just like Mai did!" Melvin smirked as Joey glared deeply at the Phoenix version of Ra. Melvin's life points were now 1400. "RA, BURN JOEY IN HELL!"

_"JOEY!"_ Everyone screamed.

_"Oh god!"_ Mokuba cried in fear.

_"Took the words right out of my mouth,"_ Seto glared.

The Winged Dragon of Ra shot out its firey furry all over the field. Joey screamed in pure agony, burning every inch of his body away. Atem began running to the stage with Serenity pulling on his arm to keep him safe from the fire. Tristan and Duke had to stop Atem from making it to the stage.

_"JOEY! JOEY, PLEASE _NO!_"_ Atem screamed with tears leaking from his eyes.

"Wait!" Serenity shouted as Atem looked into her eyes, then back on the field.

The smoke from the Winged Dragon of Ra slowly cleared out and Melvin laughed uncontrollably. He felt victorious for his win, but... _Joey was still on his knees._ His skin was cooked red and black on almost every inch of his body. His face seemed fine, luckily, and his clothes were completely black now if not burned to ashes. The part of his skin covered in clothes only left him with second degree burns.

Melvin gasped in pure shock, including everyone else. Joey's eyes were half-way open and he was barely standing. Through the intense pain, Joey drew his next card and placed it on his monster zone.

_"I play Gearfried and... and..."_ Joey said in a whisper. Seto and the others didn't hesitate to run to Joey as he instantly fell face-forward into Serenity's arms.

_"JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOEY!"_ Atem screamed, seeing his friend dead cold in Serenity's arms.

_"Um..."_ The employer said.

"Melvin wins," Seto said to the Employer. "I'm not putting him through anymore of this!"

"Joey! Wake up, man!" Tristan shouted.

"JOEY!" Atem screamed, snatching Joey's body from Serenity's arms. "DON'T DO THIS TO ME! _OH GOD,_ PLEASE!"

"Joey's still alive! He's just in a coma right now fighting for his life!" Serenity assured with a saddened face._ "I tried... I tried to warn him, I-"_

"You did what you had to do," Duke assured.

"WHY COULDN'T YOU STOP HIM?" Atem screamed at Serenity as she glared.

_"I've already had my shed of tears,"_ Serenity replied, then placed a hand on Atem's cheek. Atem released Joey and held Serenity close to him. She sighed, then looked up at the others.

"I'll take Wheeler to the clinic," Seto said, carrying Joey over his shoulder and walking him to the clinic. Everyone followed Seto as Atem stayed holding Serenity and crying bitter tears.


	37. The Coliseum Duel in the Sky

**Hey guys! Sorry this took a while to post, but I'm visiting my mom and she has no internet access! I have to go to coffee shops to get any on my laptop. Anyways, here it is. Review please!**

Joey was taken to the same clinic room Mai was lying at. Hanaski gasped when he saw Joey being carried. He practically burst into tears! First Ryan was gone, then Mai, then Ryan again, and now Joey. Though, compared to Mai, Joey's heart was slowly failing. Fear was drawn to everyone, even to Seto Kaiba.

Tea, Hanaski, Mokuba, and Tristan burst into tears while Duke and Seto tried to stay strong. All Seto could do was stare at the heart rate on the machine that was continually making a beeping sound. It wasn't long before Joey's heart began to fail and the doctors were taking Joey to the other room to put him through cardiac arrest.

_"He can't die!"_ Tea shouted with more tears bursting from her eyes, wishing for someone to take the pain away. She covered her face, knowing this would be no use.

"There's nothing we can do!" Seto said, showing a glare on his face.

"Do we _really_ need any comments from you!" Duke snapped.

_"It's the truth!"_ Seto snapped back. A sigh escaped his lips. "I've faced the death of my loved ones as a kid! I know how all of you are feeling! Sometimes facing the horrible truth is the best medicine you're gonna get..._ maybe even some comfort if you need it._ I know your friend's gonna need it more than Tea and Hanaski put together. In case you've forgotten, Atem and Joey grew up together! That bastard's known him longer than even Tristan! He only met Joey when he hit f***ing adulthood!"

Nobody said a word. There was just dead silence. Tea bowed her head, staring at the floor. She knew Seto was right. Atem was taking this harder than everyone else. He practically yelled at Serenity and he's never done that in his life. She slowly lifted her head and noticed Seto leaning his head against the wall with his arm over it, staring at the floor. _Had Joey's near death been stressful on the CEO President as well?_

Tea sighed, then walked up to the CEO President, before lightly patting his back. Seto turned his head with his stressful glare.

"It'll be alright. After all, you have a duel to go to and it's like you said, Atem needs his friends with him. _He needs you_," Tea said as Seto nodded. He gave her a warm hug, feeling the load of stress lifting from his shoulders. He separated, then placed his deck in his duel disk slot.

"If the bastard dies, prepare to wrap him!" Seto told the group, who bowed their heads. "_Death_ is only part of life we must live by. We don't decide on who lives or dies."

_"We will,"_ Tristan promised while wiping his tears. Hanaski nodded.

"And thanks... _Tea_," Seto thanked Tea, who showed a small smile.

Everyone heard the door to the blimp close. Knowing who it was, everyone turned their heads and saw Serenity appear, holding Atem's hand with both hands with great care. Atem held bloodshot eyes and stared at everyone, who seemed to have sad faces shown. He scrunched his lips before feeling embraces from everyone.

"We're here, Atem!" Tea said with a sad smile. Atem hugged everyone as more tears rolled down his cheeks.

_"Where's Joey?"_ Atem asked in a horse voice.

"He's..." Tea said, not wanting a reply.

"It doesn't matter," Serenity said with a bright smile. "I just saw a vision. I saw you and Joey preparing for a duel!"

Everyone stared at Serenity dumbfoundedly. She smiled brightly as Atem smiled, wiping the tears from his eyes. Seto held a smile himself, giving the girl credit that she _knew_ how to give Atem some fighting spirit. He was going to need it for their duel. For a second, he was starting to seem like he lost the whole world.

Seto looked at Atem with a gaming face. He looked up and nodded, then entered his room to find his duel disk. He placed it on his arm, then shoved his deck into the device as Yugi and Marik appeared by his side. Yugi smiled brightly, then put his hand on his brother's duel disk, which brought a smile on Atem's face.

_"You can do this, brother!"_ Yugi said.

_"I'll cheer you on too, so Kaiba's ego doesn't get to big,"_ Marik slightly joked as Atem made a chuckling snort.

"Thanks guys," Atem thanked his friends, who smiled and nodded at the same time. They floated and followed him to the Dueling Stage on the tower.

Atem was able to keep his game face as he made his way to the dueling tower. He left the blimp, walked inside the foot of the tower, then took the elevator to get to the stage. Marik and Yugi were with Atem the whole way up to the top of the tower where Seto was waiting with his game face. The two oppnents walked to the middle of the duel stage and shuffled their decks before returning to their positions. This was the duel to make up for the previous duel at Duelist Kingdom. This time, no lives were at stake.

Seto held a smirk as he entered a small chip inside his duel disk. Once he turned on his duel disk, the whole stage turned into a Colosseum surrounded by holographic people screaming and cheering. One side screamed Seto's name and the other screamed Atem's name. Atem convinced Seto to set up the holographic Colosseum, so it would seem like basketball in high school where one side cheered for the home team and the other side cheered for visitors. This way, Seto's ego wasn't as huge as the millionaire would wish for it to be. He finally gave in and agreed, since it would really not be fair if Atem didn't get the same amount of cheering as Seto did, even with his friends around.

"You ready for this?" Seto asked.

"I'm more than ready!" Atem replied with glaring eyes. "Despite the Shadow Games commencing, no thanks to Melvin, we can at least have one duel where no more lives will be at stake. The winner will duel Melvin, defeat his Egyptian god, and help gain Yugi's memories back."

"Of course," Seto agreed with a smirk on his lips. "I really don't need the god cards to defeat you anyways. They make defeating my opponents too _easy_ and as you said, your friend needs them to gain his memories back. Besides, if I _really_ needed the god cards that badly, they'd-"

_"Just make your ego bigger?"_

_"Whatever!"_ Seto glared as Atem chuckled in response. He knew that whoever won would duel against Melvin and he had faith that if Seto won, he would defeat Melvin, gain the god card, and give all three to himself to help return Yugi's memories.

Seto and Atem drew five cards into their hands as Mokuba shouted, "GOOD LUCK, GUYS!"

"Thanks!" Atem thanked the kid, who was cheering on both of them, because it didn't matter who won to him. To Mokuba, Atem and Seto were both his brothers he looked up to. Atem drew the first card. "I summon Queen's Knight in defense mode!" A queen appeared on the field with a sword and shield in a defensive position. "Then I fold one card. I end my turn!"

"Then, looks like I go!" Seto smirked as he drew his next card. Atem wasn't sure what strategy Seto was planning on using, but it would be different from any of the others he's used during the previous duels. That, Atem was curtain. "I play X-Head Cannon, then one card face-down!" An upper body of some sort of robot appeared on the field. "I end!"

"I didn't know you created Transformer cards!" Atem teased with a slight smirk.

_"Just draw your damn card!"_

"Okay," Atem shrugged before drawing his next card. "I summon my Beta the Magnet Warrior in defense mode!" A small puffball appeared on the field, holding big round eyes.

"I believe it's my turn." He drew his next card. "I use my spell card, Soul Exchange! This lets me take up to three of your monsters!" Kuriboh and Queen's Knight disappeared from Atem's field and ended up on Seto's field. X-Head Cannon was now on Atem's side of the field due to Soul Exchange. "Now, I sacrifice your pathetic monsters, but before I do that, I play Enemy Controller! This lets me control one of your monsters, X-Head Cannon!" A game controller, which could be mistaken as a Nintendo 64 controller, appeared on Seto's field with the wire hooked to X-Head Cannon on Atem's field.

"Wow, I knew you were a gamer, but I'd think you were into Game Cube's, not Nintendo 64!" Atem teased with a sly smirk.

"I wouldn't be joking now! I pay 1000 life points and X-Head Cannon becomes my sacrifice!" Seto declared as a hand above the controller pressed left, right, A, B, making X-Head Cannon, Kuriboh, and Queen's Knight Seto's sacrifices. Seto was now left with 3000 life points remaining. The monsters were on their way to being sacrifices until...

"I play my card, Lightforce Sword! This chooses one card from your hand and that card is banished until your 4th standby phase!" Atem declared with a smirk on his face.

_"Son of a bitch,"_ Seto seethed, but then showed a slight smirk. "I suppose I saw that one coming. Looks like I end my turn and our monsters return to our field." Queen's Knight and Kuriboh were now back on Atem's field and X-Head Cannon was back on Seto's field.

"Go Atem!" Mokuba cheered excitedly.

"Looks like it's my turn!" Atem declared drawing his card. "Unfortunately, I don't have a good monster. I'll just put one card face-down and end my turn!"

"At this point, three turns will pass by before you can even blink," Seto said.

_"I'm quaking in my shoes,"_ Atem said sarcastically while rolling his eyes.

"I summon Y-Dragon Head!" Seto declared as a robot dragon appeared on the field. "You've probably already figured it out, but when my X and Y monsters are-"

_"The Transformers! More than meets the eyes! Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons!"_ Atem sang as Seto glared in frustration. _"The Transformers!"_ Then Atem made his voice sound like a broken computer voice. _"Robots in disguise! The Transformers more than-"_

"WOULD YOU SHUT THE F*** UP? I GET THE POINT!" Seto yelled as Atem laughed his guts off.

_"Sorry, I just couldn't resist."_

X-Head Cannon and Y-Dragon Head combined together and created XY-Dragon Cannon. Atem smirked, figuring out part of Seto's plan to make his_ three sacrifices_ to summon Obelisk the Tormentor. Not only did this fusion combo make a powerful monster, but if one more appeared and were uncombined, it'd make three perfect sacrifices.

"XY-Dragon Cannon attacks your Magnet Warrior!" Seto smirked as XY-Dragon Cannon evaporated Beta the Magnet Warrior from the field. "Now, I play Voice of the Heavens! All I have to do is say the name of a six star or above monster in your deck and it's mine for the taking! _SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON!_"

"SHOUTING IS NECCISARY!" Atem shouted with a mocking voice as Seto's head boiled hot read.

"Just bring me Slifer already!"

"Okay, okay, gee!" Atem replied while rolling his eyes as he searched through his deck and pulled out Slifer the Sky Dragon, giving it to Seto.

"Now, I have two gods! What do you think of them apples?"

"I think we both think alike!" Atem replied as he revealed his face-down. "I play Exchange! Now we must take one card from the other's hand! I was originally gonna take Obelisk just to piss you off, but I suppose getting Slifer back is worth the sacrifice," he shrugged. Seto glared in annoyance as Atem snatched back Slifer the Sky Dragon, then stuck out his tongue, irritating his rival even more. Seto also chose a card from Atem's deck, then added it to his hand. Atem kissed Slifer the Sky Dragon's card, then placed it on his butt, which annoyed Seto alot.

"You are such an ass!" Seto glared.

"Thank you. I'm glad we have _something_ in common."

_"Har!"_

"Anyways, I believe it's my turn," Atem smirked as he drew his next card. He began thinking about the card Seto chose due to Exchange. Life Shaver could render Slifer's attack, since its attack depended on the number of cards in the holder's hand. Though, this was a challenge to face. "I play Big Shield Guardna in defense mode! Then, I play one card face-down! That ends my turn!"

"Looks like _defending_ is all you can do, isn't it?" Seto asked with a cocky smirk.

"Last time you said that, you got yourself screwed by Exodia," Atem pointed out as Seto glared in annoyance. "Oh, and don't forget my _lovely_ wall of Kuribohs!"

_"Wall of Kuribohs?"_ Mokuba questioned.

"You'll see what I mean later on," Atem promised with a wink.

"Over my own dead body!" Seto replied harshly.

"Co'mon Seto. Be nice._ Don't you be showing that pouty face,_" Atem mocked as Seto twitched with irritation.

"I place one card face-down, then I summon Z-Metal Tank!" Seto declared as a tank-like robot appeared on the field. Atem bit his bottom lip hard as if he was holding back something. Seto sighed with pure annoyance. _"Go ahead."_

_"The Transformers! Robots in disguise!"_ Atem sang as Z-Metal Tank fused with XY-Dragon Cannon to create XYZ-Dragon Cannon.

"And my XYZ-Dragon Cannon destroys your Big Shield Guardna!" Seto declared as XYZ-Dragon Cannon shot Big Shield Guardna with millions of huge blasts, wiping it from the field. Atem laughed throughout the whole destruction.

"Well, now that that's over, I reveal Soul Rope!" Atem declared, revealing his trap card. "When my monster is destroyed, this allows me to bring out a four star monster, and the monster I choose is King's Knight!" A mighty king with a huge sword in his hand, armor, and shield appeared on the field next to Queen's Knight. "And when King's Knight and Queen's Knight are together, I can special summon Jack's Knight!" Between King's Knight and Queen's Knight stood a younger knight with mighty armor, shield, and sword.

"King, Queen, and Jack, where's your Ace and 10 to make a straight?" Seto joked, trying to give Atem payback for mocking his XYZ monsters.

_"Get better jokes,"_ Atem smirked, not being phased. "I sacrifice King's Knight, Queen's Knight, and Jack's Knight to summon out Slifer the Sky Dragon!" The three knights disappeared and a bolt of light appeared on Atem's field, revealing Slifer the Sky Dragon.

"How dare you summon a god before me!"

_"How dare you summon a god before me,"_ Atem mocked in a mocking voice.

"_Wha-_ are you copying me?"

_"Are you copying me? Waaaaa, waaaaaa, the big ol' meany dragon is gonna wipe the rest of my life points. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"_

"THAT'S IT MOTO, YOU'RE F***ING DEAD!"

"Slifer attack!" Atem declared as Slifer the Sky Dragon breathed in a gulp of breath and shot balls of fire at XYZ-Dragon Cannon.

"I reveal my face-down!" Seto declared as he revealed his spell card Interdimensional Matter Transporter. "This removes one monster on my field from play until the end of this turn!" XYZ-Dragon Cannon disappeared from the field and Slifer's attack missed. "Looks like your turn was wasted!"

"_Ah well._ Better luck next time," Atem shrugged happily. "I place one card face-down and end my turn!"

"Wait, _you're placing a card face-down_? You know that decreases your attack points on Slifer!" Seto asked in shock.

"You know the whole saying about _never questioning anyone above you_? Seeing that I've kicked your ass a number of times I keep a record of, I get the feeling you only tell it to other people to put a point on your ego."

"You're an ass!"

_"Tu shay!"_

"Very well, your Lightforce Sword disappears and I can bring back my Obelisk!" Seto smirked as the sword disappeared and Obelisk appeared back in his hand. "I separate my XYZ-Dragon cannon into its three monster forms and offer them as sacrifices to summon Obelisk the Tormentor!" The XYZ monsters disappeared from the field and a huge blue monster appeared in their place. Seto began laughing aloud as the Egyptian God decided onto the tower against Slifer the Sky Dragon.

Atem smiled and clapped his hands. Seto glared at his opponent in confusion before Atem said, "congratulations. You win the award for the over-the-top performance. You deserve an Oscar."

"Oh shut up!"

"I'll do one!" Atem smirked as he put his hand over his forehead and fell on his knees. _"Obelisk, it's power is unimaginable! I'm quivering in fear and anticipation like I've never felt before!"_

"_I swear, you're worse than Yugi._ GET ON YOUR F***ING FEET!"

"CO'MON SETO! What the hell was with the evil laugh? I mean what's next, are you gonna make a Clash of the Titans reference?_ 'This is it, the clash of the Titans has finally come... I will destroy your Slifer AND ALL THE GODS WILL BE MINE! I WILL BE THE DUELIST KING! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!'_ Seriously, that's like the most pathetic over-the-top performance I've ever seen in my life!" Atem smirked as Seto glared in response.

"Whatever, my Obelisk has higher attack points than you! You stand no chance against me, Atem!"

"We'll see about that. Hey, there's another over-the-top performance!_ 'You stand no chance against-'_"

"SHUT UP!"


	38. Obelisk VS Slifer

**Hey guys! It's time to continue this duel shall we? Though, I'm glad you guys are liking the lighthearted duel to keep us from drama. Unfortunately, we need to check on Joey. I know one of my commenters was asking me about Joey. Here's where you will get your answer. Also, around here is where I will start basing this duel off the anime. The reason for this is because there's a really awesome part I want to put in. I'm hoping to pull this off and hopefully I will. Also, I apologize for this lasting three chapters long. Review please!**

While Seto and Atem were dueling, everyone else, besides Mokuba, was surrounding around what was left of Joey after the cardiac arrest. _His heart was barely sounding._ The doctors had asked the friends to _put Joey down_, but they refused it and asked to give him a chance to fight for his life. There was a slight chance he would live, but Serenity promised life and she seemed determined that Joey would win.

Serenity held onto Joey's hand tightly while the others tried to stay strong. It seemed that Serenity was the stronger one, seeing that she still had hope for Joey. Tea had two hands holding her head, hiding her bloodshot eyes. Hanaski and Tristan also held bloodshot eyes. Ishizu stared out the window, then noticed a huge holographic Slifer the Sky Dragon and Obelisk the Tormentor.

"It seems that Atem and Mr. Kaiba have already summoned their gods," Ishizu said in a loud whisper. Everyone snapped their heads over toward the window. In mere seconds, they were gathering at the window, where they saw the two gods out against each other.

_"Whoa!"_ Tristan responded. He turned to Joey's direction. "Hey buddy, Atem just summoned Slifer! He's dueling against Kaiba!"

Joey's lips twitched and the heart meter began showing his heartbeat rising. Serenity could even feel her brother's fingers twitching. Serenity smiled, knowing what her brother _wanted_. She looked up at Tristan, who nodded. He walked over to Joey's side and lifted him up off the bed.

"Wait, you can't-" the doctor said.

"Joey will be fine! He wants to _see_ Atem fight!" Serenity assured. She could only know the outcome of the duel through Seto, since he wore no millennium item. She ran by her brother and helped stand him up. "Don't give up, Joey. Atem needs your support! You can do this, I know you can."

Joey's fingers began to twitch again and his lips were quivering. It was as if he was trying to say something, but couldn't spout it out of his mouth. Serenity knew for sure that Joey's deep coma didn't prevent him from hearing his surroundings. Melvin hadn't trapped Joey too deep in the dark._ He could hear their voices._

Serenity smiled as she stared out the window. She hoped in her heart that the duel with Seto and Atem would be enough to revive her brother. He was _fighting_, fighting for his very life! There was no doubt that Joey was determined to win no matter what it took. Joey was _determined_ to fight against life and death.

* * *

><p>Atem had summoned Slifer the Sky Dragon, who held 2000 attack due to holding two cards in her hand. Seto had also just summoned his god card Obelisk the Tormentor with 4000 attack. He couldn't understand why Atem laid a card face-down and weakening his god, but was about to find out the answer. Atem held a smirk upon his face as if <em>he knew<em> the outcome of this phase.

"Slifer's special ability activates when you summoned your god!" Atem said. That's when it dawned on Seto why Atem laid a card face-down, Slifer's _special ability_.

Slifer the Sky Dragon's second mouth opened and shot a huge fireball at Obelisk the Tormentor, dropping its attack by 2000 points. Now, both gods had the same amount of attack points. This made Seto slightly frustrated, but knew by his next turn, Obelisk's attack will return to its 4000. This little _phase_ will not last and Atem knew it. Seto grew a smirk on his lips.

"I place one card face-down! That ends my turn!" Seto declared as Atem nodded, then drew his next card. Slifer the Sky Dragon's attack points were now 3000 and Obelisk's was 4000.

"If you use one of your cards, your Slifer's attack points will drop. _What are you gonna do?_" Seto asked mockingly.

"_Besides kick your ass?_ I would think maybe f***ing with you some more," Atem smirked in reply while peering at his cards. "Anyways, I end my turn!"

"Then, I go!" Seto said while drawing his next card. "OBELISK, ATTACK WITH IRON FIST!"

_"YELLING IS NECCISSARY!"_

"SHUT UP!"

_"YOU'RE STILL YELLING!"_

Seto groaned, then said, "_Obelisk, attack!_ There happy?"

"I activate my spell card, Pot of Greed!" Yami declared as he revealed his face-down card and drew two more cards. Slifer's attack points were now 5000. "Did I ever mention to you how fun it is to f*** with you?"

_"You little-"_ Seto seethed through his teeth as Slifer attacked Obelisk with blazing fire from its mouth. "I activate my spell Command Silencer! This negates the attack and I draw one card!" He drew one card from his deck.

"Then I place two cards face-down!" Atem declared, which lowered his Slifer's attack points down to 3000. "I end!"

"Very well, then it's my turn!" Seto declared before drawing his next card. "Now, my Obelisk can-"

"I play Card Destruction, which gets rid of our hand, then we draw the same amount as we just discarded!" Atem declared as him and Seto threw their hand into the graveyard and draw the same amount as they had in their hands. "Then, I play Disgraceful Charity! This returns the cards we discarded back into our hands!"

"You son of a bitch!" Seto shouted as Atem smirked, watching his Slifer's attack points rise to 6000.

"Don't get _mad_, get glad!"

"SHUT UP!"

Atem laughed his guts off as Seto growled in irritation, then said, "I play Thirst for Compensation! This lets me special summon two level 4 monsters or below in defense mode! I bring out Blade Knight and Sword of Soul!" A mighty warrior with black armor and a huge sword, with a gold blade and a black handle with a skull on it, appeared on the field.

"This also activates Slifer's special ability!" Atem smirked as Slifer the Sky Dragon opened its second mouth and shot two fireballs at Blade Knight and Sword of Soul.

"Which is why I activate Card Guard! This prevents my monsters from being destroyed by card effect until the end of this turn and in return, I discard one card!" Seto replied as he discarded one card from his hand into the graveyard.

"Let me guess, we're about to experience some shit here right?" Atem asked as Seto smirked and nodded.

"I sacrifice my two monsters to Obelisk to activate his special ability, since you're keen to using your god's ability!" Seto declared as Obelisk the Tormentor grabbed Blade Knight and Sword of Soul and it turned reddish.

"I've always loved it when you used this ability to Obelisk, but monster effects don't work on Slifer!"

"But the second part of its ability is active! OBELISK, ATTACK ATEM'S LIFE POINTS DIRECTLY!" Seto shouted.

_"Again, with the shouting!"_

"Whatever! I still win!"

Obelisk the Tormentor lifted its mighty fist and aimed it directly at Atem. He threw in a huge smirk as he took one card from his hand and sent it to the graveyard just as the fist landed on him. Seto chuckled _oh so darkly_ over his victory, or what he thought was a _victory_. He gasped as he saw Atem's points still remaining the same.

"WHAT?" Seto gasped aloud as he then saw a huge holographic Kuriboh in front of Atem.

"I activated Kuriboh's ability. By sending him to the graveyard, battle damage is reduced to 0!" Atem replied as Seto's head boiled in anger.

Mokuba laughed his guts off, almost tripping onto the floor, then said, "OH MY GOSH! YOU JUST GOT PAWNED BY KURIBOH, SETO!"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! HOW DARE YOU STOP MY OBELISK WITH THAT PUNY SHIT?" Seto almost screamed.

"Sorry Seto, but I think your ego needed to be taken down a few notches!" Atem replied, still laughing.

"I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT!"

_"I'd like to see you try!"_ Atem smirked with a challenge, then drew his next card. "By the way, it's my turn! My Slifer attacks Obelisk!" Slifer took a big gulp of breath and shot a whole breath of fire at Obelisk.

"Then I use my trap card Power Balance! This cuts the number of cards you have in your hand in half and I draw the same number in my hand!" Seto declared with a huge smirk. Atem discarded three of his cards, making Slifer the Sky Dragon's attack 3000 as Seto drew three more cards in his hand.

"Then I use Necromancy!" Atem declared with tension building up. "This special summons your monsters back on your field in defense mode, but if destroyed, your Obelisk take 600 points of damage!" Four of Seto's previous monsters from his graveyard with less than 2000 points appeared on the field, then were instantly destroyed due to Slifer the Sky Dragon's effect. Seto glared intensely as he found Obelisk's attack dropping to 1600.

"Then I activate my Sword of Soul's effect! This increases Obelisk's attack by 1000 points!" Seto said hastly as Obelisk's attack increased to 2600.

"I also activate my monster's effect! When Electromagnetic Turtle is sent to the graveyard, I can end my battle phase!"

The attack between the gods stopped as Atem sighed in relief while wiping the sweat off his brow. He began laughing at the excitement and intensity of this game. Then, Seto began laughing and both were continually laughing until they couldn't find the breath to laugh anymore. Atem sighed while rubbing his right eye. He loved the excitement of the duel! _To be pushed to his limits!_

"I set one card face-down!" Atem declared, still breathing in and out from the laughter. Slifer's attack was now 1000 and Obelisk the Tormentor's attack was back to 4000.

"Want to go again?" Seto asked, with a smiling smirk.

"BRING IT ON!"

"Obeliks attacks Slifer!" Seto declared aloud.

"I play Spell Textbook! I discard all my cards and draw one card! If it's a spell card, I can activate it!" Atem declared as he threw his last card in the graveyard and then a smirk appeared on his lips. "The card I drew is Card of Sanctity!"

"_Oh sure, because every card you draw has to be the one you want!_ What are you a wizard?" Seto said sarcastically as he and Atem drew from their deck until they reached 6 cards. "Anyways, I activate my trap card, Life Shaver! You must discard your cards for each turn this card has been set and it was two turns!" Slifer the Sky Dragon's attack was now 4000, the same attack as Obelisk the Tormentor.

The two Egyptian Gods attacked one another and as they made their attack, a bright light began to glow in the middle of the field. It was like an explosion of an atomic bomb. At first, Seto and Atem thought this was part of the holographic projector, but then they began feeling the effects of this explosion. _It was intense!_ The sound and wind of the explosion was sucking the boys in!

_"SETO!"_ Atem shouted.

"AT-_ YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_" Seto screamed. Atem felt his world tumbling upside down as he found himself falling into some sort of _black hole_ of some sort.

"SOMETHING TELLS US WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

"IF I KNEW, I WOULD'VE TOLD YOU!"

The two boys fell deep into the black obyss and landed onto the hard floor of some sort of room. Atem got up, rubbing his head from the hard fall. The room was dark, very dark, though not enough to where nobody could see the room. There were torches alongside of the walls of this palace. Wait..._ PALACE?_ Atem gasped, not knowing where he was. Seto was thinking the same thing.

The boys had landed in some sort of large palace filled with walls made of sand-baked bricks. There was a huge opening the size of two french doors and another opening across from them next to a corner of the room. The floor seemed to be made of rock or sand-baked brick, like the walls. The climate of the room seemed to be cooler on the inside, perhaps due to the thick walls, and it was very dark inside if not for the torches. This told the boys that it was probably night time at this point, despite it being the early afternoon not too long ago.

_"Where are we?"_ Seto asked in a whisper.

"I don't... _know_," Atem replied, getting up on his feet. He saw someone with a long skirted tunic, some cuff jewelry, and a tall headdress of some sort walking inside of the palace toward the throne. There, on the throne, was a king with a man skirt, a bare chest,vsome gold cuffs, neck jewelry, ear rings, and a headdress, only of a pharaoh. He gasped aloud at this sight, _who was this man?_

"My lord! Your city has fallen in ruins! You have nothing left!" The man, entering the palace, declared with a slight smirk.

"Seth, Aknadin has betrayed us, but you don't have to turn against us too!" The king said in a serious, but _familiar_ voice.

"_Why?_ Because your soft _tender_ heart is enough to save your precious _kingdom_?"

"Seth, speak to me!"

The man, whose name was Seth, narrowed his eyes and they turned into some sort of bright red color. The king jumped off his throne and ran across down the steps. Atem gasped aloud, seeing those bright violet eyes and face on this king's completion._ IT WAS YUGI!_

"You're not my cousin! What have you done with him, Zork?" Yugi shouted in anger, pointing his index finger directly at Seth.

_"Just making his wish come true, to gain true power!"_ Controlled Seth replied in an echoed voice._ "You have failed to protect Egypt, king, you are worthless!"_

"I won't let you treat my family like your own puppets! You already have my uncle and my dear friend Ryou, what more do you want?" Yugi questioned in anger that Atem had never seen before in his brother's eyes.

_"_Destruction_, my king! To take you out, my king! The people here think you're a god, but you are nothing! You can't even protect your own precious loved ones!"_

"I won't give into someone like you!" Yugi promised with his heart. His puzzle around his neck began to glow and a monster of what looked to be like the Dark Magician appeared. "I will do to Seth what I couldn't do for my two beloved!"

_"You can't bring him back, Pharaoh!"_ Controlled Seth smirked as the rod in his hand, what looked to be like the millennium rod, glowed and a Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared. _"It's time I let Blue-Eyes finish you off!"_

This Seth character appeared in the light to show more of his outlook. Seto gasped aloud. This Seth looked like a reflection of himself. Only, his eyes were more reddish like he was being controlled. He seemed to be wearing priest clothing as if his job was to _protect the pharaoh_. Before Seto knew it, he saw Yugi's real spirited figure from inside of Atem appear with a blank look. It was as if he was trying to remember this scene and take it all in his mind.

"Do you remember this?" Atem asked. Yugi nodded, then turned to Seth. He remembered this character.

"It's my cousin Seth. Seto is the reincarnate version of him... the former holder of the millennium rod," Yugi whispered, then held his puzzle. "And puzzle after me."

_"Shit."_

_"Seth,"_ Yugi whispered while closing his eyes and a tear rolled down his cheek. Atem could feel the pain of this memory within Yugi. He was remembering the pain of watching his own flesh and blood in the hands of a monstrous demon.

* * *

><p>Atem and Seto snapped their eyes open and they were back on the duel stage. <em>The god cards colliding!<em> Atem knew they were more than just average _duel monster cards_, but he had no idea that they were the reason for this mysterious vision. He new in his heart there was more to Yugi's past then met the eyes. Just as there was happy events of his memories, there were also sad ones as well. Yugi had faced so much hardships in his past and Atem felt grief for his dear friend.

"Atem!" Seto cried out as Atem looked at his friend. "Are you okay?"

"I think so," Atem replied. "I think I'm a little sick from our little trip to Wonderland."

"Same here. Let's continue and leave what we just saw to after the duel."

"Good idea!"

Seto panted, then searched through his deck and declared, "I place one card face-down and end my turn!"

**A/N: Okay, let me get something clear about Obelisk's effect for those of you that don't know his effect (sighs). Sacrificing two monsters does not make its attack points _infinite_. I WILL SAY IT AGAIN! _SACRIFICING TWO MONSTERS DOES NOT MAKE ITS ATTACK POINTS INFINET!_ That's only if Obelisk sacrifices The Winged Dragon of Ra and Slifer the Sky Dragon THEN it's infinite! Let me explain the effect of sacrificing two REGULAR monsters. It destroys all monsters from the opponent's field. This does not work against Slifer the Sky Dragon since Slifer is immune to monster effects. Not to traps or spells, at least in the manga, but..._ I think you get the idea._ Okay, it destroys your opponent's monsters on the field and in the manga or anime or whatever. Obelisk's effect also includes _direct attacking_ at your opponent of 4000 points and this is treated as _battle damage_, which is why Atem is able to sacrifice kuriboh to reduce that battle damage effect to 0. Anyways, I wanted to put this here to make it more clear, because the anime nor manga is gonna tell you squat! I'm still confused about half the duels on this show, seeing that I've played Yu-Gi-Oh several times. Anyways, I hope this clears out what questions you might have of why Obelisk's attack isn't infinite in this duel lolz.**


	39. The Soul Cards

**Here's the rest of the duel with Seto and Atem. I'm sorry this duel is taking so long and lasting three chapters. These duels will get longer, though this one is because I was including the extra part of the duel with Seto and Atem. It was one of my favorite scenes of that duel and it was disappointing they never included that in the manga. It was like the Ceremonial Duel, which I will get to when we cross that road. Anyways, enjoy the rest of the duel, which will be based on the manga this time. PROMISE! Review please!**

Atem was still on a loop about the vision him and Seto had seen when they were taken into the black hole. There were so many questions trapped inside his mind unanswered. Though, he knew right now wasn't the time for questions. He had to figure out his next move. He looked at the cards in his hand and onto Seto's field.

"I summon Baphomet!" Atem declared.

"Trap! Clone Reproduction!" Seto countered, revealing his trap, then a look-alike of Buphomet appeared on his field.

_"You were planning on using that against my god card weren't you?"_ Atem asked as if he was stating the obvious.

"Does every card in my deck have to point to your damn god?"

"Maybe."

"Whatever, just make your move."

"I place Buphomet in defense mode and lay one card face-down," Atem declared as Buphomet changed into a defense position.

"Wise choice. I use my spell card Cost Down, this lowers the level of any monster I choose by two stars! I choose Blue-Eyes White Dragon, which is a level 8 monster! Now, it's a level 6, so I can sacrifice one monster to summon her!" Seto smirked widely.

"SWEET!" Atem replied excitedly as Seto sacrificed his clone Buphomet and summoned Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

_"What took you so long?"_ Kisara asked through the dragon.

"Sorry, had a little... _trip through Wonderland_," Seto apologized. "DESTROY BUPHOMET!"

_"Again with the yelling,"_ Atem teased while rolling his eyes as Blue-Eyes White Dragon destroyed Buphomet.

_"He's got a point. You do tend to yell alot,"_ Kisara chuckled.

"I hate you, you know," Seto glared in annoyance as Atem stuck out his tongue.

"Anyways..." Atem said while drawing his next card. "you like a bitch fight?"

"Why?" Seto asked confused as Atem summoned Monster Reborn and Dark Magician Girl was instantly summoned onto the field. He smirked widely. "Actually, I do like a good bitch fight."

"Since Dark Magician is in my graveyard, Dark Magician Girl's attack is raised by 300 points," Atem explained as Dark Magician Girl's attack points rose to 2300.

_"Why didn't you summon Master?"_ Mana asked.

"I thought this would be fun. Besides, I can't talk to Dark Magician like I can to you," Atem shrugged as Mana smiled and gave a wink. "I place one card face-down!"

"So much for trying to match that little battle we saw with your twin," Seto smirked.

"_F*** that!_ I ain't gonna summon Dark Magician to match the battle! It's like doing an historical play! I'm here to duel not copy history crap!"

"True," Seto agreed, shrugging. "Besides, dueling this way just makes this more... _interesting_." He drew his next card. "I play Card of Demise! I draw up to five cards in my hand and after my fifth turn, I place my hand in the graveyard!" He peered through his hand. "I place one card face-down and summon out Lord of Dragons! As long as he's on the field, my Blue-Eyes is invulnerable to magics or traps!"

"Seems you're seeing through my strategies," Atem said with a slight smirk.

"This is the third time we've dueled."

_"Fourth."_

"Huh?" Seto asked confused.

"This is the fourth time. First time was when you stole my grandpa's card, second was when you ripped it and pushed me and my friends in a tournament, third is when you tried to commit suicide and I got pissed, and now is fourth. Not to mention you're also counting our other duels during school. I think you're making a plot hole, Seto," Atem said as Seto slapped his forehead.

"Okay, technically speaking, _33rd_ time we've dueled," Seto sighed. "Anyways, I know your strategies and what you usually use during duels."

_"Tu shay!"_ Atem smirked cunningly and drawing his next card.

_"What do you plan on doing? Lord of Dragons has thrown off your entire plan!"_ Mana asked.

"I'll think of something. This isn't the first time Seto has cornered me!" Atem promised. "I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior in defense mode!" Alpha the Magnet Warrior appeared in a defense position. "Then, Dark Magician Girl attacks Lord of Dragons!"

"Trap! Magical Trick Mirror, with this I can activate Monster Reborn from your graveyard!" Seto declared with a sly smirk.

"Oh shit, you're gonna summon Obelisk aren't you? You know, you're just too cruel!" Atem slightly teased.

"Glad you agree. I summon Obelisk the Tormentor and your Magician attacks it!" Seto declared as Obelisk the Tormentor was instantly summoned onto the field and Dark Magician Girl attacked it due to the ability of Seto's trap. The attack bounced against the god and headed right for Atem, leaving his life points to 1500. "So much for being one step ahead of me."

Atem began laughing, then said, "I play one card face-down and end my turn."

"Having fun?" Seto asked.

"The best! I love dueling with you Seto, you push me beyond my limits! Alot of the times I don't know how to find my way out and I have to find new strategies!"

"The same goes for you too. You've won more times at many of the games we've played then I can count."

"103 to 75," Atem slightly bragged with folded arms.

"_Don't push it,_ but I always try to set up my gaming strategies to find my way out of the hole, even ask for Kisara's help."

"Mana helps me too, mostly Yugi. I guess gaming is one way of forgetting the world and just having fun."

Seto slightly chuckled, then stared at his duel disk. He whispered loudly, _"I had forgotten what it was like to have fun... until I met you."_

Atem smiled and nodded. Seto could feel his left hand slightly vibrating. He had tried to avoid it, but now he was letting it sink in. By this time, Seto knew he couldn't avoid something him and Atem shared for about a year and a half or so. It was time to finish this duel to find out where this road will lead to!

Seto drew his next card and declared, "I play my spell card The Flute of Summoning Dragon! I can summon up to two dragons with this card!" Two more Blue-Eyes White Dragons appeared.

_"You can also summon two dragons with that card!"_ Mana clarified to Atem.

"You forgot to mention that _I_ can summon two dragons too," Atem said with a slight smirk.

"What's your point?" Seto asked rolling his eyes. Atem searched through his deck and pulled out Red-Eyes Black Dragon, placing it on his field. "_OH SHIT!_ I FORGOT ABOUT... _SON OF A BITCH!_" He slapped his forehead as Atem laughed aloud.

_"Damon?"_ Kisara called out to the black dragon.

"You know this dragon?" Seto asked dumbfoundedly.

_"He's my twin brother. I lost him long ago after the death of our parents. People thought he was a demon because of his red eyes and the fact he had a dragon inside of him. He ran away to protect me, but Joseph followed him and I had not seen them since. I spent my whole life searching for the boys and after my death, they were found by your ancient spirit."_

"Kisara knows Joey's dragon?" Atem asked in surprise.

"Kisara says that's her twin brother," Seto explained.

_"Joey's gonna wanna hear about this,"_ Atem muttered, then remembering that Joey was in cardiac arrest last he heard, though had faith he would survive this.

"My first Blue-Eyes will attack your Dark Magician Girl!" Seto declared as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the very left attacked Dark Magician Girl.

"Then I play my trap, Magic Cylinder!" Atem declared as the cylinders appeared with Dark Magician Girl in the middle. _"This never gets old."_ The blast from Blue-Eyes White Dragon entered through the right cylinder and launched through the left, aiming right at the monsters.

"Your trap is useless! Did you forget my Lord of Dragons?" Seto asked with a smirk up his lips and folded arms.

"_Who said I was aiming for Blue-Eyes?_ I still want my bitch fight," Atem replied as the blast took out Lord of Dragons from the field. "Bullseye!"

"No matter, I still have two more Blue-Eyes White Dragons!" Seto said as the middle dragon shot at Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"And I play my trap, Spellbinding Circle," Atem smirked as the circling hexagram surrounded the middle dragon. "Time for Red-Eyes to attack!" Red-Eyes Black Dragon took in a gulp of breath and shot a firey fireball at the middle Blue-Eyes White Dragon, wiping it from the field. Seto was left with 1900 life points left.

"My third Blue-Eyes destroys Alpha the Magnet Warrior!" Seto declared as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the right destroyed the magnet warrior. Just as that happened, Atem's cell phone began to ring.

"Just one sec!" Atem promised as he answered his cell phone. Luckily, Mokuba was the only person here in charge to make sure the duel followed the rules without Employers. "Hello?"

_"JOEY WOKE UP!"_ Serenity cried out.

_"YOU SERIOUS?"_ Atem gasped aloud, almost hardly breathing.

_"Yeah, he-"_ Serenity cried in joy before someone else grabbed the phone.

_"Atem, are you there?"_ Joey asked in a horse voice.

"Joey, are you okay?" Atem asked, almost bursting in tears.

_"I'm fine, buddy. You're not gonna believe it, but I thought those stories about having _out-of-body_ experiences were bullshit, but I just had one. Man, that's just... _that's just weird!_"_

"I'm glad you're okay!" Atem said in pure joy. Seto had to let his friend pause their game just for this. "Anyways, I'm kinda in the middle of a duel..."

_"Go kick his ass, buddy!"_

"You know it!" Atem replied before hanging up the phone.

"Since my Lord of Dragons is in the grave, I get to draw a new card!" Seto said, drawing a new card from his deck. "I play two cards face-down and end my turn!"

Atem drew his next card, then declared, "I place two cards face-down, then put Red-Eyes in defense mode!"

"I play my trap! Final Attack Orders forces all monsters in attack mode and makes it to where they have to fight one another without dire consequence and that's not all. We also must choose three cards from our deck and place the rest in our graveyard," Seto declared.

"Maybe I'll choose the same card Ishizu played against you. You know, the one that made you say the F bomb," Atem teased.

_"You're never gonna let that die, are you?"_ Seto asked grimly.

_"Nope."_

"Whatever, just choose your damn cards already."

Atem and Seto chose three cards from their deck and placed the rest in their graveyard. He sighed, then said, "I end my turn!"

"Then I go!" Seto declared. "I play Monster Reborn to bring out the Blue-Eyes White Dragon you destroyed! Now, I play my Polymerization on the field to combine my Blue-Eyes and play Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Three Blue-Eyes White Dragons fused into the light and emerged as Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. "Looks like my victory lies ahead in this duel! I have to thank you for that!"

_"Me?"_ Atem asked with a huge smirk.

"Yeah," Seto said, gazing his eyes from Atem's position. "You're the only person that can give me a true happiness I lost long ago at the orphanage."

"That's because only until you met me did you actually have a true _friend_," Atem replied as Seto's eyes widened. _He was right!_ "Friends don't keep you from gaining power, they bring you happiness. You know you'll never be alone no matter what troubles you face and both of us have had faced alot in the past."

_"Abuse,"_ Seto muttered with furrowed eyebrows.

_"Betrayal,"_ Atem muttered quietly.

_"Breakups."_

_"Rape."_

_"Pressure."_

_"Drugs."_

_"And pushing others out who are trying to help."_

"Seto," Atem said as Seto looked up. "Promise me that you won't push me out anymore!"

Seto glared and stared at his left hand, he noticed Atem's name was fading away. He closed his eyes and said,_ "I promise!"_ Atem's name disappeared and left only skin in its place. The final piece of Seto's heart was finally placed and Seto had finally found his happiness back once more. No longer did he ever feel _alone_. In fact, excepting Atem's friendship never made Seto weaker, but _stronger_.

"Now, I use Double Spell!" Atem declared as Seto gasped, he glared intensely. "I can use the spell cards you used this turn! I also play Monster Reborn to bring out Buster Blader! Then, I use Polymerization to fuse Dark Magician Girl with Buster Blader to bring out Dark Paladin Girl!" Dark Magician Girl and Buster Blader fused together in the light and created what looked to be like Dark Magician Girl, only she was wearing a dark forest green outfit instead of a blue and pink one. The skirt was short, but breezy in the wind. Her green boots fit perfectly with the outfit, including the large sword-like edge at the end of the wand. Though, instead of blond hair, she had whitish-blond hair. "Now, our bitch fight is even! Both polymerized and ready to have our bitch fight of a lifetime!"

"Your bitch spellcaster still has 2600 attack points and 2100 defense!" Seto cleared out.

"Yes, but it also has a special ability. It gains 300 more attack points for every Dark Magician and Dark Magician of Black Chaos in the graveyard, and extra 500 for every dragon on the field!" Atem pointed out. Dark Paladin Girl's attack points reached to 4400 attack. Seto groaned at that notion. Atem drew his next card, since it was now his turn. "I place one card face down! Turn end!"

"Then, I go!" Seto declared, drawing his next card. "I also place a card face-down! You ready for your bitch fight!"

"ABOUT TIME!" Atem smirked as Seto shared the same smirk as his friend. "Hit me with everything you've got, Seto!"

"Is yelling necessary now?"

"It is now!"

"BLUE-EYES ULTIMATE DRAGON, ATTACK PALADIN GIRL!"

_"BITCH FIGHT!"_

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon burst a stream of lightning blast at Dark Paladin Girl. Atem showed the biggest smile as the three-way blow came right toward Dark Paladin Girl. Even the spellcaster seemed excited. She turned her head and gave a wink, then pointed her nose down to the face-down card on Atem's field.

"I play Magic Formula!" Atem declared while Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was still attacking. "This raises Dark Paladin's attack by 500 points!" Dark Paladin Girl's attack rose to 4900.

"I knew you would play that, which is why I play Absorb Spell! This will raise my Ultimate Dragon's attack instead of Paladin Girl's!" Seto declared as Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's attack increased to 5000 and Dark Paladin Girl's attack dropped back to its 4400 attack. "YOUR DEAD, ATEM!"

"Not really!" Atem smirked as he revealed his face-down card. "I play De-Fusion! Now, your dragon is back to its three Blue-Eyes White Dragons!" Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon transferred back into three Blue-Eyes White Dragons. "Now, there are four dragons on the field!" Dark Paladin Girl's attack rose to 4900. "And with that, I also play Diffusion Wave Motion, I pay 1000 life points to choose one level 7 monster and its allowed to destroy your entire army! Dark Paladin Girl's a level 7!"

_"Oh... f***,"_ Seto responded, then sighed.

Atem's life points were now 500 and Dark Paladin Girl's wand began glowing with pure light. Dark Paladin Girl threw the glowing wave of light at the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons and Seto's life points reached 0. The Colosseum disappeared after the cheering crowd all shouted Atem's name. The two stared at each other for what seemed to be like an eternity before the friends came and gasped.

Atem was the first to laugh before Seto began laughing with his friend. They both jumped off the stage to find Mokuba tackling Atem.

"YOU WON! YOU WON! CONGRADS!" Mokuba cheered.

"I guess that should be nothing else to be expected by the _amazing_ Atem Moto!" Atem bragged while Seto rolled his eyes.

"Hey!" Joey cried out as Atem ran to his friend and almost tackled him to the ground in a huge.

"JOEY! I'm mad at you! Don't ever scare me like that again!" Atem cried out, squeezing his friend tightly in his arms.

"Gee, co'mon pal, you're killing me! Nobody's dead!" Joey said before everyone gave out a huge laughter. "Congratulations buddy!"

"It was your Red-Eyes that saved my hide! Otherwise I would've lost. You deserve at least 12% of the credit."

_"12%?"_

"You weren't dueling."

"Okay, _12%_ whatev'," Joey shrugged.

"But I also won because I had a rival like you, Seto," Atem added as Seto rolled his eyes. "_I mean it._ Why should there be a line between friendship and rivals?"

"I suppose since boasting is the privilege for winners, I'll give you my anti card!" Seto said, giving Atem Obelisk the Tormentor. Atem nodded, taking the card, but then found another card under it. _It was Fiend's Sanctuary!_

"What's this?" Atem asked.

"You will need that to defeat Melvin! Ra is not one to underestimate," Seto replied, a smile appeared on his lips. "Besides, I get it now! Your grandfather's Blue-Eyes! Tell him, I'm fixing that card as we speak! Your gramps should be getting it in his mailbox by the time Battle City Ends!"

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it! You're gonna need it!"

Seto walked into the elevator. Atem knew that before the finals, he had to meet with Seto at the basement of where the military building once stored its ultimate weapons. There was _something_ Seto needed to do. Though, there was still time for that. Right now, Atem was meeting with his friends, mostly Joey, and getting ready for the final round. This one would be on Yugi's turf. It was going to be Yugi dueling Melvin this time.


	40. The Monster of Victory or Defeat

**Here's the next chapter. I will start the duel, but only the first part of the duel where you get to know the rules and what nots. I want to see your reaction to this lol. Trust me when I say this will turn more bloody than a zombie movie!1 Review please!**

Atem was talking with his friends and reuniting with Joey. Seto leaned next to the elevator as Mokuba came by and gave him the second key to Kaiba Corp. The kid then walked inside the elevator to go to the bathroom located inside the blimp, since there was wasn't one around the Duel Tower. Seto showed a smile on his face as he stared at the two keys to Kaiba Corp. in his hand. They were meant to be for more than the keys to his company in Japan. They _originally_ were for the military base on the island that was now destroyed.

Seto was glad that Atem's name on his left hand was finally gone. It was starting to irritate him alot. Who would've thought that _accepting_ his friendship with Atem would actually make him feel more stronger and confident of himself? Still, did this also include _weaknesses_? Would this keep Seto from becoming more successful than his own father?

Seto had already learned his lesson that paying off employers to work for him wasn't _always_ the best decision when he was close to bankruptcy. It seemed that in the dark, only the ones he could trust and keep close were the ones who pull him out of the gutter. If it weren't for Atem and Mokuba, Seto knew he would not have been able to even host a tournament, let alone have the company's popularity and money to be able to build another company in America.

As Seto thought of these things, Atem began walking to his friend with a short smile. His duel with Melvin would begin shortly, but first, _things_ had to be done. There was a short break in between, so this gave Melvin time to set up his deck. Atem also had time to set up his deck as well... well _Yugi_ to set up his deck.

"You ready?" Seto asked.

"Yeah, let's go," Atem replied before him and Seto entered the elevator and traveled down to the bottom floor.

Seto and Atem walked side by side out of the Duel Tower and toward the middle of the island covered with rubble. The whole island was filled with it and ashes. It left Seto so much hatred toward his step father and was ready to blow all of this up. He never wanted to think about his step father or even mention his name. EVER!

Atem could sense anger flowing through Seto's veins. He knew it was because of this island, the way it reminded Seto of his step father. That was why he wanted to blow this island up. Atem pitied his friend and hoped that blowing this island up would render that anger deep inside Seto's heart. He knew this anger would not be good for Seto, especially towards a dead corpse.

Seto opened a hatch to the basement of the military base that once stood on his island. He jumped inside before Atem followed him. _The place was unbelievable!_ The walls seemed to be made of some kind of steel, though the area felt as hot as the pits of hell, and it was so dark Atem couldn't see a thing. Luckily, Seto came with a flashlight. He was able to find the switch to turn on the lights, which never needed electricity.

"This place is hotter than my mom's car at summer time!" Atem said, his voice echoing.

"The air condition's not on, that's probably why. It hadn't been on in who knows how long," Seto explained, walking through the room filled with machines of some sort and weapons. Atem was tempted on jacking one of the weapons along and experimenting on it.

Seto turned on the Emergency Power Supply and used the two keys to launch a self destruct sequence. Atem watched as Seto set the timer for two hours, which was enough for the final duel and everyone to escape from the island. He also happened to open a roof hatch made for jet take-offs. Atem was so thankful that Seto wasn't going to drive on a Blue-Eyes White Jet. _As if his ego needed to be bigger than it already is!_

The doors automatically opened and Seto turned on the air conditioner for when it was time to leave the island, which would blow up in two hours. Everything seemed to be in place as far as the millionaire could tell. Atem placed a hand on Seto's shoulder and the CEO President turned his head to face his friend.

"What will happen now?" Atem asked. "What will you do after this island blows up?"

"I'll move on. Hopefully, my company will take on in America and I can build a Kaiba Land theme park there," Seto replied.

_"Death T?"_ Atem asked with a teasy smile.

"No."

Atem chuckled in response while Seto gave him a glaring expression. The millionaire then took Atem's hand and placed the two keys inside it. Atem raised two eyebrows as Seto gave out a smile.

"You're now the new manager of Kaiba Corp. in Japan. I want to leave it to someone I can trust, who will not make deals with Industrial Illusions or any of that bullcrap," Seto said as Atem gave a blank look.

"Seto, I'm not trained in this area," Atem replied.

"I already gave you enough training while you volunteered as the coe-host for Battle City. As for the rest, I will have one of my employers give you the roots and the rest you can follow on your own."

Atem stared at the two keys in his hand. He then turned his eyes at Seto, who was staring back at him. There was alot on Atem's mind to go through about this sudden news. _Why him?_ Seto walked over to Atem and placed two firm hands on each arm.

"Don't let me down! I already had the Big Five f*** me up and I expect you to surpass all of them!" Seto commanded as Atem nodded firmly. "You'll be paid a good salary and if you do fine, I just might raise it. Domino High's policy only states that you can't have a_ part time job_, this will not be part time, so you should be good."

"It's not that, I've never worked at this high of professional and I know it will be harder than just volunteering as a coe-host," Atem admitted.

"Everyone's scared at their first try."

"I'm not scared!"

"I'm not the type you can lie to, Atem," Seto smirked while walking on his way to the ladder leading to the hatch. "I know you will do fine."

"Okay."

"The only thing I worry about is your complaining about the dress code."

"You're making me wear a f***ing tie again aren't you?" Atem asked with glaring eyes. Seto let out a smirk as his friend groaned. "F*** you, Seto!"

"As always. You also are required to tone down the language. No cursing at work to your employers or _anyone_ while you wear your so called_ 'f***ing tie'_ or your salary will go down ten bucks per word. If it's 0, you pay me!" Seto said with command as Atem flipped his middle finger, making his friend/future boss laugh. "And that includes cursing using your body language. For that, you owe me twenty."

_"Go to f***ing hell!"_

"The last part you will hate the most."

_"This should be good,"_ Atem said sarcastically while climbing up the ladder after Seto.

"You also are required to cut your hair nice and neat when on the job. It's rather that, or put it in a ponytail, which I'm sure is the last thing you want. It can't be longer than eight centimeters long and I will have professionals check you once everyday just so you can remember."

"Oh great! _What?_ You're gonna make me look like-"

"_A professional businessman?_ Precisely. Being at work by four and working till midnight, with school days having one of your employers taking over while you're gone and still required to keep up with the business, having your phone and beeper on hand, and having to make sure you're cleaned and shaved for work. It's just _exactly_ like that."

_"I hate you."_

"Glad to hear it," Seto smirked almost deviously. "Hey, I might give you a day off if you lower down your complaining just enough."

Atem sighed deeply, then followed Seto back to the Duel Tower. He would not put his hair in a ponytail if it was the last thing he did! He knew he was going to have to cut his hair and perhaps buy some gel to make it _neat_ to Seto's standards. There was also the uniform, which included a suit and tie. This was going to blow, almost as much as toning down his language, which was a trial for him since becoming involved in the drug gang with Joey. This was going to be hard to do, but it _had_ to be done.

Atem began seeing the bright sides to having a job at Kaiba Corp. as manager. There was the money that could help his family and being able to contact with Seto almost everyday, since he was _the boss._ He would also have to keep contacts with Seto in knowing about gaining Yugi's memories. There might be chances he would need a week off. Atem knew Seto would be willing to give his friend that time off for Yugi's sake.

The Duel Tower then reminded Atem of defeating Melvin. He sighed and took out his deck. He let Yugi take over, so he would set up the deck needed for his battle with Melvin. This would the be the toughest one yet. Yugi knew he had to be prepared for _anything_. He made sure Fiend's Sanctuary and the two Egyptian Gods were in his deck as well. It would be difficult to beat Ra, but it had to be done. Yugi was aware of the three abilities and this was the time to find ways of thwarting all three of them.

Seto felt fear in his heart of Yugi defeating Melvin or not. It would be hard, even with Yugi's skills and strength in dueling. Melvin was skilled in using the abilities of the Winged Dragon of Ra. In fact, he _knew_ how to use all three of them. There was only 15% chance of Yugi winning, even with Fiend's Sanctuary. Seto only hoped that maybe Yugi can pull out some sort of win in the end.

It had not been too long before Yugi finished his deck and began to move into the elevator, joined by Seto.

"Do you think you can win against Melvin's Egyptian God?" Seto asked.

"I don't know the future, but I know there's a way to and I'm gonna find out what!" Yugi replied determined. "It's the only way of gaining my memories back and saving Marik."

"After trying to kill you?"

"Well... he did believe _I_ killed his father. He was probably thinking that he was bringing justice in his owns hands. I know I did when a man from death row who put a gun to Tea's head. Brother was mad about that."

"You _killed_ a man?"

_"Hm-hm,"_ Yugi nodded. "I was only trying to help and brother was mad. I learned that sometimes when trying to protect my loved ones, the decisions I make are not always the best ones. We must take the advice of others before deciding if what we're doing is best or not. Marik was no different."

_"I see."_

"I guess we all learn something and I think Marik might learn something from this situation."

"You think you can help him?"

"I won't know till I try right?"

"Don't lack confidence. With Melvin there's no room for that and he'll be dangerous. Just look what he did to Wheeler!" Seto warned as Yugi nodded.

Yugi stepped out of the elevator and toward the Dueling Arena where Melvin was waiting on the duel stage. Yugi took a deep breath, then walked onto the duel stage for the two opponents to shuffle each other's decks. Melvin was chuckling oh so deviously with such a dark tone to it.

"Hoping that Ra will be at the bottom of my deck?" Melvin asked intimidatingly.

"I don't know what game you'll be playing, but I'll defeat you no matter what!" Yugi promised boldly.

"I guess we'll have to see won't we?" Melvin asked, giving back Yugi's deck, before they both walked on the opposite sides of the duel stage. The sky began to turn dark, telling Yugi that the Shadow Game was about to begin.

"Here we go again!" Duke said aloud.

"At least Ishizu's watching over Odion and Mai," Hanaski said, then looked up at his friend. "YUGI! GO GET HIM!"

"Watch me, Hanaski!" Yugi said boldly while Melvin began chuckling some more.

"You've already seen my games with Joey and Mai, but this one will be totally different. See, at the end of this game, the loser will forever be lost in the darkness, at least _you_ will!" Melvin smirked widly as his millennium rod began to glow. Before Yugi knew it he heard Mai's scream and saw her inside some sort of hour glass with man-eatting bugs slowly devouring her. Yugi began turning pale. "Twenty-four hours is almost up for dear Mai, so by the time this game is finished, she will never see the light of day!"

_"Mai,"_ Yugi croaked, then noticed something. He noticed Marik appearing next to Melvin inside some sort of prison of blue bars surrounding him. "MARIK!"

_"What the hell?"_ Marik muttered, then saw Melvin and narrowed his eyes in anger. "_YOU!_ YOU'RE THE ONE WHO MURDERED MY FATHER!"

"HA! You are such a dumbass to ever think the _Pharaoh_ was the one, especially with such a sickness you've got! Though, by the end of this game, I will already have you off my ass!" Melvin smirked deviously as Marik threw his fists against his prison, then looked toward Yugi's direction and his eyes widened. "_Oh... f***._ YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU STOLE MY IDEA!"

_"Idea?"_ Yugi asked.

"WAIT, _THIS_ WAS YOUR IDEA?" Yugi heard Atem's voice shout in anger. He gasped when he turned around and saw his brother's spirited form, also inside a prison with glowing blue bars like Marik.

"Actually, it included pinning you up by your hands and legs and the loser going to the Shadow Realm, having his body parts slowly disappearing into the shadows depending on the life point decrease," Marik explained as Yugi's face turned even paler.

_"Wow, that makes me feel f***ing fantastic! Not only do I get to experience the Shadow Realm if Yugi loses, but I get to experience first hand of the capital punishments back in Ancient Rome! You know, how about you shove in nails on my hands and feet while you're at it?"_

"Enough of that, I summon Vampiric Leech!" Melvin declared as a large worm with two sharp fangs at the end of its mouth appeared on the field. "I use his special ability to attack during the main phase!" Vampiric Leech jumped out and attacked Yugi directly, surprisingly, it didn't hurt him, but it did hurt_ someone else_.

"_AH!_ F***!" Atem shouted, his hands on his abdominal area. Yugi gasped as he saw blood beneath Atem's fingers.

_"BROTHER!"_ Yugi cried in agony as Atem glared at Melvin. Yugi stared at the mad man fearfully as he laughed deviously.

"You see what you have to face, Pharaoh? Interesting twist of events really, but instead of you feeling the pain of your monsters, your _brother_ here will. Any attack you or your monsters face will be felt by your other personality instead and the same goes for me!" Melvin explained.

"Okay, didn't come up with that one," Marik said. "F***!"

_"Thank you captain obvious!"_ Atem said in a horse voice, then checking his wound, which looked like two holes from his abdominal muscle with dark crimson leaking out. "Shit."

"OH MY GOD!" Serenity screamed, her hands to her mouth.

"It seems your girlfriend's millennium item helps her see what's going on in this duel!_ This should be good!_ I want your so called _friends_ to see you suffering slowly and painfully, Atem! Your suffering will be worth the Pharaoh's suffering!" Melvin smirked sickly before laughing aloud.

_"You're sick,"_ Atem spat.

"I'm glad you noticed!"

_"Brother,"_ Yugi muttered, his lips quivering at the sight of Atem behind those bars wounded and not having the capability to do anything. After all, he couldn't pass through the bars.

"Be strong, Yugi! Kick this guy's ass, don't worry about me!" Atem told Yugi with glaring eyes.

_"But-"_

"_No buts!_ I want this guy to pay for what he's done to Mai, Odion, and Marik! You can do this!"

"He's right! Besides, if you surrender, you automatically lose and you'll never see your precious _Atem_ ever again, because the loser's counterpart also gets sent to the Shadow Realm!" Melvin noted.

"Please, leave him alone!" Yugi begged.

"Do you seriously believe I will? After all, his suffering is making you suffer all the more. If this was Kaiba, I would've had him as a sacrifice anyways! Maybe even add his little twerp brother while I'm at it!"

"_That's it!_ YUGI, KICK HIS F***ING ASS!" Seto shouted angrily.

"Go beat him, Yugi!" Atem told Yugi.

"_I will._ I'll save you Brother, I promise!" Yugi vowed as Atem slipped his hand between the bars and held his brother's cheek. Yugi leaned his face against Atem's soft hand.

_"I'm still here,"_ Atem said softly before slowly slipping his hand from Yugi's face. Yugi nodded, then focused back on the dueling. This would be one duel that would prove to be more difficult than he ever imagined.

**A/N: Just to be brief, the Roman's capital punishment was what Jesus suffered in the Bible, yes. This was also shown in the movie Spartacus. Back in Roman times, even before that time, those who died on a tree or the cross suffered the most brutal torture anyone would ever hope to face. It doesn't help _take demons out,_ like most of these stupid Hollywood movies put just because Jesus suffered that kind of torture. This was a death penalty for criminals that committed a crime so bad that they didn't deserve to live. It is proven that this type of punishment was held before even Jesus Christ was born, since it was mentioned in the Book of Leviticus. The reason I'm pointing this out is because people usually think of Jesus Christ when you think of being pinned up like dying on the cross. He did suffer like that, but He was not the first one. There were Hebrew criminals that suffered that kind of torture, because they committed horrible crimes. I know that Atem does not like History and only a few even know about this, but as I said, this was shown in the movie Spartacus and I'm not making Atem say a Bible reference. Even Littlekuriboh made fun of people that do that kind of shit. If I do make a Bible reference, it won't be towards Jesus or the LORD. Anyways, that's all I need to say. Just wanted to point out that little information for those who didn't know about this.**


	41. Showdown in the Heavens

**Here is the next chapter. Now, I do not know how long this duel will take. _AGAIN! _I DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG THIS DUEL WILL TAKE! I estimate as long as the duel with Seto Kaiba, but again, I do not know. I just know this duel is as long as getting to the highest level of Pac Man without saving. So, I apologize if this duel is boring, I'll try to make it interesting. I mean Atem's being slaughtered, so I suppose it will grow some intensity. Anyways, enjoy this the best of your abilities and hopefully this won't be as boring as the Seto versus Yami Yugi duel from the anime. Review please!**

Nobody could believe what they were hearing from Serenity. Yugi and Melvin were not only playing a Shadow Game, but one where the life line of their monsters connected to their alter egos. Atem's life line connected to Yugi's monsters while Marik's life line connected to Melvin's monsters. The loser's counter part will be sent directly to the Shadow Realm. If Yugi wins, Atem is safe, but Melvin will continue to unleash chaos. If Melvin wins, Atem will go to the Shadow Realm and will still continue to unleash chaos. Things were going in Melvin's favor either way.

Serenity locked her eyes on her boyfriend behind the blue bars, grasping on his upper stomach. She could not see the future of this duel due to both duelists carrying millennium items. She knew she had to stay strong no matter what. Atem was in pain and knew that she _herself_ had to be there if anything happened. She was determined to stay strong no matter what!

Melvin kept his sickly smirk saying, "after using Vampiric Leech's special ability, if I discard one card, I can return it to defense mode! I shall send this to my graveyard!" He chose a card from his hand and sent it to the graveyard. Yugi had a bad feeling that it was the Winged Dragon of Ra. All Melvin would have to do was play Monster Reborn and the god card would make its onslaught. "I place one card face-down! That ends my turn!"

"Then, I go," Yugi said, drawing his card. He usually always found a way to have _fun_ on his duels, but with Atem out to be slaughtered like an animal, this could really throw off Yugi's game. Yugi took a deep breath, knowing he was going to have to make a move either way. This time to _fight_! "I summon Queen's Knight! She attacks your Leech!" Queen's Knight ran over with her mighty sword and slashed it through Vampiric Leech.

_ "YAH!"_ Marik cried aloud, his two arms across his stomach and a cut through it. _"SHIIIIIIIT!"_

"Sorry Marik," Yugi apologized hesitantly. "I place two cards face-down and end!"

"Then, looks like I go!" Melvin declared with a huge smirk as he drew his next card. Joey gulped, hoping that this monster didn't draw Monster Reborn. "I play Juragedo in attack mode!" Some sort of mutated alien-like creature appeared on the field. "Attack Queen's Knight!" The monster came zooming down and slashed Queen's Knight across with it's knifed claws.

_ "YEH!" _Atem cried out as his body twirled around and fell on the floor.

"ATEM!" Serenity screamed as Atem got up with his good arm and saw a part of his arm cut three slashes with blood seeping out and three gashes across his stomach.

_ "Ah shit! Ah shiiiiiit!"_ Atem cringed, then covering his stomach with both arms, while using his good hand to cover the arm with the cuts. Yugi didn't care that his life points were now 3300 as much as seeing if Atem was okay or not. _"Don't worry about me, Yugi! Just watch out for his Monster Reborn!"_

"Speaking of using Monster Reborn! I play Left Arm Offering! This allows me to draw one spell card from my deck and discard my entire hand!" Melvin smirked with the devilish look in his eyes. "I believe you know which _one_ I'm going to choose!"

"Good, because I reveal my spell card Exchange! This makes it to where we take one card from our opponent's deck and I'm taking your Monster Reborn!" Yugi declared with narrowed eyes.

_ "Good call!"_ Marik cheered.

"You're sure annoying, Pharaoh!" Melvin glared as he and Yugi traded cards. He took Monster Reborn from Melvin while he took De-Fusion from Yugi's hand. Seto found it hard to believe that Melvin would lose Monster Reborn so easily. Something told him that Melvin had something up his sleeve.

Yugi drew his next card, being his turn, then declared, "I summon King's Knight in attack mode!" King's Knight appeared on the field with its mighty sword. "Then I play Monster Reborn to bring back Queen's Knight!" Queen's Knight appeared on the field once again next to King's Knight. "And when King's Knight and Queen's Knight are together, I can special summon Jack's Knight!" Jack's Knight appeared between King's Knight and Queen's Knight.

_ "Nice going, Yugi!"_ Atem cheered his brother on. _"Now, you can summon our god!"_

"Go ahead and try, Pharaoh!" Melvin tempted Yugi. "_I dare ya! _It will only lead to slaughter for my counterpart!"

_ "Kiss my f***ing ass!" _Marik spat with angry eyes.

"Think I should attack?" Yugi asked Atem.

_"I don't know, I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach," _Atem said, eying his wounds. _"Oh sure, I make a pun in the middle of battle! How f***ing wonderful!"_

"I end my turn!" Yugi declared, not wanting to take chances, especially since he didn't have either god cards in his hand.

"My turn!" Melvin declared, drawing a card. "I know you don't have a god card in your hand, so I'm gonna give you a little _gift_! A gift called Card of Sanctity! We each draw until we have six cards in our hands! Think of this as an offering!"

_"Really, is it the part where I'm standing here bleeding like hell or Yugi's deck going up your ass?" _Marik asked in a glaring manner. Atem and Yugi stared at Marik wide-eyed. _"What?"_

_ "Did you say Yugi's _d***_?" _Atem asked.

_"_DECK! _NOT D***! GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ!" _Marik screamed aloud with blushing cheeks.

"Whatever!" Melvin said, uninterested. Him and Yugi drew until they each held six cards in their hands. "I'll play a monster in defense mode, then place one card face-down! I end!"

"Then, I go!" Yugi cried out aloud, drawing his next card. "I sacrifice all three knights and summon out Slifer the Sky Dragon!" The thunder roared and Slifer the Sky Dragon swift through the sky like a snake. Everyone cheered Yugi on for his successful summoning of the Egyptian God. Melvin seemed thrilled with anticipation of facing Slifer the Sky Dragon, which was odd, seeing that this was a Shadow Game. Marik knew the truth, that dragon would probably kill him, since it was not _Melvin_ getting the hit, but himself. "Slifer attack!"

"Then, it's time for me to reveal _my_ god!" Melvin smirked devilishly. "I activate my trap card Revival of the Dark! When a monster attacks, this allows me to bring out a spell card from my grave and I choose Monster Reborn!" He searched through his graveyard and brought out Monster Reborn, using it to special summon the Winged Dragon of Ra. The flamed beast appeared on the field as a firey phoenix, like the duel against Joey. Slifer's attack was negated against Ra.

"Oh shit!" Joey responded, eying at Yugi.

Serenity bit her bottom lip while staring longingly at her beloved Atem. This special ability in phoenix mode effected its enemy's _monsters_, which meant that this would effect Atem like it did with Joey. Melvin was laughing with anticipation. He loved the idea of burning Atem with this phoenix version of the Winged Dragon of Ra. This would definitely throw Yugi off his game, especially if it effected Atem the way it effected Joey. _It was time to test it out!_

Yugi felt sweat pouring down his face. Worry was overtaking him! He knew if Melvin used the special ability of the Winged Dragon of Ra by paying 1000 life points to destroy all monsters on the field, this would cook Atem to a crisp. He had to think of a way to avoid this ability to protect his brother from this god's fury!

"The moment you summon Ra activates Slifer's special ability!" Yugi declared with furrowed eyebrows. Slifer the Sky Dragon opened its second mouth and unleashed a fireball on the Winged Dragon of Ra. Unfortunately, the attack ceased into the fire bird, doing no effect to the monster.

"You're a fool! Special abilities don't work against Ra!" Melvin glared in annoyance. "Now, _where was I? _Oh yes! I pay 1000 life points to destroy all your monsters on the field!" He was now left with 3000 life points. "Now, time for your counterpart to burn to the ground! I can just taste the burning flesh against my tongue!"

_ "_Ew_," _Marik cringed.

"Brother!" Yugi cried out, eying Atem, who was trying to stay strong.

_ "I'll be fine, Yugi!" _Atem glared strongly.

"Ra, do your worst!" Melvin smirked sickly as licks of fire from the phoenix of the Winged Dragon of Ra swept the whole duel stage. Serenity turned extremely pale, trying to remember to breathe as she heard the terrifying cry from Atem, who was trying not to scream. It couldn't be helped that Atem's agonizing pain was so intense.

"Serenity, what's happening?" Joey asked, worried about his sister.

_ "I..."_ Serenity muttered before the smoke from the Winged Dragon of Ra cleared and left its traces behind. Slifer the Sky Dragon was gone and Yugi looked back to see what was left of Atem.

Atem was on the ground face-down in pain. His clothes were cooked and the skin under it seemed to hold second degree burns. In fact, burns were held all over his body, third degree burns on his arms. His shoes seemed melted from the intense heat from the beast and black marks were painted almost all over his skin. The worst part of this was Atem could barely move an inch.

Serenity couldn't take it, she climbed up the stage to Atem's side. _She wasn't going to let him face this alone!_

"Wai-" The employer tried to stop.

"No, I'll watch!" Seto promised, preventing his employer from bothering Serenity. She _needed_ to be with Atem.

Serenity scooped Atem in her arms as the Winged Dragon of Ra returned to the graveyard after using its special ability. She brushed those gold bangs away to see the black marks on both cheeks and eyes weakly opening. Those dark violet eyes locked onto beautiful hazel ones. If it weren't so painful to do so, Atem would've kiss those soft lips quivering like a small child who never got his toy for Christmas.

_ "Serena," _Atem muttered in pain as Serenity carefully held her beloved close to her with his head leaning against her shoulder. His arms drooped down on both sides of Serenity's hips while the girl gently played with her darling's hair. It was springy, which is why his hair stood up so naturally, but it was fun to mess with. Serenity closed her eyes and began remembering when she used to play with Atem's hair as a little girl, because it was so tough and springy.

_ "My love," _Serenity whispered gently into Atem's ear.

Tristan watched with locked eyes at Serenity holding an _invisible figure_, knowing it was Atem. He had dated girls and even got most of them laid, but never in his life had he ever been or seen loved like this. A part of Tristan was jealous, but happy that Atem was this lucky to win a girl who had the ability to love him with her own dear heart. Before, Tristan figured perhaps waiting to see if it would work out with Serenity and Atem or not would determine if he still had a chance with Serenity. Now, Tristan could no longer find the will to take Serenity, even if her relationship with Atem didn't work out. If Serenity couldn't win her love with Atem, _nobody could._

"I reveal my trap, Zombie's Jewel! This takes a spell card from your graveyard and adds it to my hand, so I get back Monster Reborn!" Melvin smirked as Yugi gasped, then looked back at his brother, who was in dire pain. "Which means that I get to summon back Ra next turn!"

_ "NO!" _Yugi cried out, looking back at Atem. He couldn't take another blow on his brother! _NOT ATEM!_

"It seems you're already being _thrown off your game_! Your brother's so broken up, he needs to have his whore's help to sit up!"

Serenity showed narrowed eyes and said, "Melvin!"

Melvin looked directly at the girl he attempted to rape only last night. Serenity glared, "if Yugi loses this game, I _will_ kill you!"

Mevlin glared, not being intimidated by Serenity's words, said, "on the positive side, you do get to draw one card, Pharaoh! Let's see if you get lucky!"

_ "Serena,"_ Atem muttered as Serenity locked her eyes on those weak violet eyes. _"Don't let Melvin take your innocents away."_

Serenity rose two eyebrows, but knew what Atem _meant_. He didn't want Serenity to grow hate over his death and end up like Marik. _That was how Melvin was created! _Serenity closed her eyes tightly as she held Atem closer to her chest. The lump on her throat grew heavier and tears were leaking from between her eyelids. She was sniffing and crying from this whole duel.

_"Atem, I love you so much!"_ Serenity squeaked, brushing her fingers through her boyfriend's hair.

_"I love you too, Serena," _Atem replied with a soft smile.

_"Please don't slip away!"_

_"I'll be fine."_

"You don't understand! There's no one else I could love as much as I love you! I've tried when we drifted apart at 10! Nothing could ever keep me standing where I am! Nothing could keep me still than your voice, your touch, your sight! When you came to visit me after all these years, I _wanted_ you!"

_"I wanted you too. I couldn't love any other girl like this, not even Olivia! My lusts would overtake me, but I don't want that with you! I want you with me, so I can protect you and keep you safe. In years to come, I want you!"_

"Me too! Then, the wedding from when we were kids can become a reality."

_"A house of our own, chatter boxes running a muck, my love at my bedside,"_ Atem whispered lovingly. _"There was more to my future when I thought of _us_. I want it to always be like that, so it can become a reality."_

_"I already see it,"_ Serenity said in a weeping voice, holding Atem in her arms. "I'm holding onto that future! The future of what we dreamed as kids to become a reality!"

_ "_Yes_," _Atem whispered beneath his lips.

Yugi heard of what Atem and Serenity were talking. They still held hope for their future yet to come! He had to hold onto _his own_ future, the future of returning to the Underworld with his family and friends from 3000 years ago. He would have to wait for Atem, but would reunite with his lost family and friends. Eyes closed and Yugi made his draw due to Zombie Jewel's effect.

Seto felt a curtain _call_, and then closed his eyes. His mind drifted to the vision him and Atem saw during their duel. He answered the call and implanted, in his mind, the card he gave to Atem, Fiend's Sanctuary. There was so much that was hard to explain. It was as if the darkness from Yugi's puzzle was _calling_ onto Seto for help. _Unity_ was making its power glow brightly through that one draw.

Yugi made his draw and, while keeping his eyes closed, placed it in the Spell and Trap Card Zone, saying, "I place one card face-down and end my turn!"

"WHAT?" Everyone gasped.

Seto opened his eyes and a smirk appeared on his lips. He knew Yugi had used the power of his puzzle to make his _destiny draw_. With the power of _Unity_, Yugi can call upon the spirits to give him the card he wants or to call upon the spirits he wants to summon. Since the cards held the spirit monsters, it effected the cards. Nobody knew about this magnificent _power_! This _power_ was also used to call upon the spirit monsters from every human's soul 3000 years ago.

"Looks like you just attempted suicide! _Whatever!_" Melvin shrugged before drawing his next card. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back Ra!" The Winged Dragon of Ra appeared once more. An evil laugh escaped from his lips. "I maybe so _over-the-top_, but it's worth it! Watch as a transfer my life points over to Ra!" All of Melvin's life points, except one, was transferred to Ra, leaving the beast with 2999 attack. "I can also sacrifice my monsters and absorb their attack!" Juragedo was sacrificed and the Winged Dragon of Ra now had 4699 attack.

"Okay, not good!" Tristan responded.

"YUGI!" Tea cried.

"You've got to come up with something!" Hanaski cried.

"Time for Ra to attack!" Melvin smirked victoriously.

"I reveal my face-down!" Yugi cried aloud boldly. "I won't let you hurt my brother again! I reveal Fiend's Sanctuary!" A large circle with a hexagram in the middle appeared and a mirrored snowman appeared on the field. The head of the token revealed a mirror image of Melvin's head. "If Ra attacks this monster, it reflects back to your life points!"

_ "Oh shit! This is gonna hurt!" _Marik responded as the attack from Winged Dragon of Ra hit against the token and hit directly at Melvin.

"You little bitch!" Melvin shouted. "I activate De-Fusion, which separates me from Ra and brings my life points to 4700! So the attack from Ra is void, but at least my counterpart is in one piece! Ra also returns to my graveyard!" Winged Dragon of Ra was sent to the graveyard along with Monster Reborn. Yugi sighed in deep relief that Marik didn't take the hit. _He already had to worry about Atem getting hit! _"I place one card face-down and end my turn! Sorry your counter was such a waste!"

"I pay 1000 life points to keep my metal token on the field!" Yugi declared, leaving his life points with 2300. He drew his next card. "I play my face-down Multiply on my Metal Token!" Fiend's Metal Token changed into three copies of itself. "I sacrifice all three tokens to summon out Obelisk the Tormentor!" The three tokens disappeared and the ground shook as Obelisk appeared strong and mighty. Melvin gasped with his face filled with horror. "Obelisk, attack Melvin directly!"

Obelisk took its mighty fist and punched Melvin directly at its stomach. Marik gasped as he felt a huge pounding rock hit against himself like a torpedo. _It completely knocked the breath out of him! _Everyone gasped at the direct attack, Serenity held her boyfriend tighter in her arms, and Yugi narrowed his eyes filled with boldness. This was not just a duel anymore, _this was war!_


	42. Defeat the Darkness

**Alright guys, this is when it gets ten times worse! I think you probably predicted this lol. This is where you will see the copy of Obelisk the Tormentor. Lol I swear, I know normal duelists of today would be annoyed if they were in Yami's shoes. Yet, Yami was more annoyed of Toon Summoned Skull rofl. It's also the end of the duel! I was actually surprised about this. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Review please!**

Melvin was just hit by Obelisk's direct attack, taking 4000 from his life points. He was now left with 700 life points remaining. Marik, inside the glowing blue prison, was laying on the ground with blood rolling down from the corner of his mouth. Serenity was glad that Ishizu wasn't here to see this. Atem looked toward Marik's direction with worry in his eyes.

_"M-Marik!"_ Atem croaked.

"Well, wasn't that fun? You just knocked Marik out with Obelisk's fist! Don't forget that _he's_ the one who's suffering and after everything he's sacrificed to protect your precious _memories_! I laugh from the irony of Marik dying by the Pharaoh's hands!" Melvin taunted.

"Marik!" Yugi wailed. He turned his head at his brother who was filled with burns through most of his body. He knew if he kept fighting, Marik would die, but if he didn't, then Atem would be gone forever. _Was there any way to defeat Melvin and only _Melvin_?_

"You also activated my trap!" Melvin smirked widely.

"Wait, I thought traps or spells don't work on Obelisk!" Joey said.

"This trap activates when I lose life points!" Melvin explained as everyone's eyes widened. "Now, take a good look at this!" His trap was revealed and a silver slimeball with spikes all around it appeared on the field in defense mode. "Metal Reflect Slime! This token copies its defense three-fourth of your god's attack!" The metal slime began changing shape into a cheap copy of Obelisk the Tormentor with defense points.

"_Wow..._ to think he would've used that on you, Seto!" Mokuba said as Seto narrowed his eyes in pure annoyance. Though, he knew Mokuba was right.

"Your token still is weak by 1000!" Yugi pointed out.

"It still makes a good shield for right now!" Melvin said, pointing to his token in defense mode.

"I place one card face down and end my turn!" Yugi declared. Then began wondering to himself,_ "This token is in defense mode. Would Marik still be hurt if I attack the monster in defense mode?"_

_"Mph,"_ Marik moaned, reaching his hand up to his chest, then slowly sliding himself up against the glowing blue prison bars. He seemed to be having a hard time opening his eyes or even _moving_.

"Marik!" Yugi cried aloud.

_"Yu-Yu..."_ Marik muttered before coughing up splatters of blood.

"Hang on!" Yugi shouted out at Marik.

"I believe it's my turn, Pharaoh!" Melvin smirked, drawing his next card. "I also summon Revival Jam in defense mode! I believe you're familiar with this monster!_ No?_" Revival Jam appeared on the field in a defense position. "I lay a card face-down and end my turn!"

"Okay!" Yugi glared, drawing his next card. He looked out at Marik, who was barely talking or moving, then at Atem who was no better off than Marik. There was so much stress building up on Yugi. He couldn't lose Atem! _NOT ATEM!_ Though, he didn't want Marik to die with blood on his hands either. _Was there a way to defeat Melvin without harming Marik in the process?_ "I summon Big Shield Guardna in defense mode! Obelisk also attacks your slime token!" Yugi knew this was risky, but perhaps Marik won't be harmed if the monster being attacked was in defense mode. Obelisk took its fist and aimed it right at the copied version of itself.

"I reveal my spell card Polymerization to fuse my Slime Token with Revival Jam!" Melvin declared, revealing his face-down card. The Slime Token and Revival Jam merged into the light and made another slime copy of Obelisk. Obelisk the Tormentor finished its attack and splatters of slime flew everywhere before remerging back together again like Revival Jam. "This monster is called Immortal God Slime! You can't destroy this one, Pharaoh! It protects me from your onslaught!"

"That's just cheap!" Tristan spat.

"Co'mon Yugi, you can do this!" Hanaski cheered his friend on.

"He better! That Immortal God Slime is starting to get on my nerves!" Seto said, almost seething through his teeth. _"At least it's not a toon monster."_

"I end!" Yugi declared, not knowing anything else to do.

"Then, I go!" Melvin smirked, drawing his next card. "Seeing you miserable like this gives me great pleasure! There's nothing you can do Pharaoh! _Nothing,_ but wait until the darkness consumes your poor little friend over there! In fact, I just might quicken the process! I play a face-down card, then summon Bowganian on the field in defense mode!" A huge eyeball appeared on the field with a crossbow in his two hands. "As long as this monster remains on the field, it gives you 300 points of damage once every turn!" Yugi glared, trying to seem brave. "I end my turn!"

"My turn!" Yugi declared, drawing his card. As far as he knew, he couldn't think of anything to save Marik or his brother. He looked at the card he drew and his eyes lit. _It was his brother's soul card Dark Magician Girl!_ "I also play a card face-down, then sacrifice Big Shield Guardna to summon out Dark Magician Girl!" Dark Magician Girl appeared on the field. She looked behind her and stared at Atem with concern.

_"Master, are you okay?"_ Mana asked as Atem turned his head and saw his soul card. He faintly smiled.

_"Help... Yugi,_" Atem said faintly. Serenity looked over at her boyfriend, not knowing _who_ he was talking to, then over at Dark Magician Girl. Serenity began realizing that Dark Magician Girl, now that she thought about it, almost looked like a spitting image of _herself_!

"Dark Magician Girl, attack Bowganian!" Yugi commanded his monster. Dark Magician Girl twirled her wand and shot a ball of black energy at the monster.

"I reveal my trap, Jam Defender!" Melvin declared as he revealed his face-down card and Immortal God Slime's arm defended Bowganian from Dark Magician Girl's attack and the attack bounced right back at Dark Magician Girl. She hit the ground from her counter attack.

_"Ah,"_ Atem cringed, having a sudden whiplash and blood spitting from his mouth. Serenity wiped the blood off with her shirt.

"Now, you cannot attack _any_ of my monsters and since your Dark Magician Girl's attack is lower than my monster's defense, well... _you know the rules!_"

Yugi was left with 1300 life points remaining. He looked back and realized that his brother couldn't even make a crying sound, since he was so badly hurt. Then, Bowganian aimed its crossbow at Yugi, which made him gasp, and it launched right at him, leaving him with now 1000 life points remaing. Atem coughed, as blood spat out of his mouth, eyes bulged open, and a new wound was made in the middle of his chest.

"Atem, hold on!" Serenity cried, holding Atem to her chest to stop the bleeding. He was panting and breathing fast, almost turning pale white.

"Oh man, Yugi's not looking too good!" Tristan said.

"Well, can you blame him? Atem's probably in the worst situation! I mean especially by what Serenity informed us!" Joey mentioned.

Atem was trying to gain as much living breath as he could, his eyes barely open and blood-shot red. Serenity patted her boyfriend's back as those dark violet eyes suddenly turned hallow. Yugi hadn't noticed this, being too scared of his brother's well being. He felt so helpless! Atem was dying and so was Marik!_ There was no plan to save them both!_

_"Yu-Yugi!"_ Atem, with hallow eyes, croaked to Yugi.

"Atem, hang on!" Yugi said, kneeling down at his brother.

_"I-It's me, Marik!"_ Marik said, possessing Atem._ "A-Atem will have... to do. Please... save him... forget me!"_ Marik pleaded before coughing. _"Man, he really is in hell."_

_"Marik-"_ Yugi said before he found his mind drifting back into his soul room, then Marik came through the door into his soul room.

"I want Atem to rest for right now," Marik said, panting from running from Atem's soul room to Yugi's soul room. "Look I'm prepared to die if that means defeating Melvin! _Don't hold back!_ Kill that son of a bitch!"

"Marik, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you! I'll think of something!" Yugi promised.

"I sent those Rare Hunters after you, because I thought you killed my father, but I was wrong! I was stupid to ever think about that! I know now that I was sick and blinded from the truth and I can't let something that I created out of my own hatred take away the only friends I've ever made that accepted me for who I was! Please, _don't let Atem die!_" Marik pleaded on the caff of his legs and his face at Yugi's feet like bowing before a king. _"I know now that Melvin killed my father... _I_ killed my father! I'm the one that should die, not you and not Atem! _Please!_"_

Marik felt Yugi's embrace and tears leaking from his eyes, which he tried so hard to prevent, but was glad he was not in public. Yugi said, "this gives me more than enough reason to save you. No matter what happens, I want you to promise to keep on living! To not give up on this fight!" Marik felt his tears being wiped by Yugi's two thumbs as the child showed a huge smile. Marik nodded, then buried his face in Yugi's chest while grabbing a hold of his uniform jacket.

* * *

><p>Yugi returned to the duel, then saw Marik's spirit appear beside Atem, helping Serenity hold him upright and using his hand to stop the bleeding. Yugi remembered since Marik implanted control on his brother, he implanted a <em>duplicate<em> of himself inside his soul room and could appear and disappear in spirit form beside Atem anytime he wanted.

"_Well, isn't this cute?_ My other personality wants to save his friend! Well, believe me, as soon as your precious _friend_ is gone, you'll be gone too!" Melvin smirked deviously as Marik flipped him off.

_"Shut the f*** up! Yugi, do me a favor and kick his ass!"_ Marik said as Yugi nodded with furrowed eyebrows.

"My turn!" Melvin declared, drawing his next card. "YES! Mining for Magical Stones! By discarding two cards from my hand, I can retrieve one spell card from your graveyard and I choose Monster Reborn!" Yugi walked to Melvin and gave him Monster Reborn from his graveyard. "By my next turn, I will summon Ra!"

"This isn't good! I don't think Atem can take another attack!" Serenity cried.

_"I know!"_ Marik agreed._ "Yugi's gonna have to find a way to stop Ra or it'll be too late."_

"You're the original owner of the Winged Dragon of Ra, do you know a way to stop him?"

_"... I do, but Yugi is reluctant to stop Ra, because it will only end up hurting me."_

"I place one card face-down, and then I will summon Granadora in defense mode, who gives me 1000 life points!" Melvin smirked as his life points rose to 1700 and a large mutated creature appeared with large sharp claw-like teeth in his mouth. Marik's real spirited body, that was knocked out by Obelisk's attack, began moaning as if he was getting a back massage.

_"I guess when you gain life points, it makes an opposite effect and heals you! At least there's some good news,"_ Marik realized, then he looked at Yugi. _"I don't understand, Yugi. After everything I did to you, Atem, and your friends, why are you willing to save me?"_

"Marik, I understand your grief and... I don't think even someone like you deserves to die. You're a great person. You were just deceived and I want to give you a chance to live, so you don't have to live in darkness!" Yugi replied as Marik sighed in sorrow. "Right now, the real enemy is Melvin! There has to be a way to defeat him, so you can live!"

_"As far as I can see, the only way to defeat him is to sacrifice me! Especially with the Winged Dragon of Ra and his abilities!"_

"Wait, Ra's abilities! One of them included giving up his life points to Ra! He used De-Fusion when gaining back his life points! De-Fusion only works if two monsters are merged together right? If that's the case, that means that when Melvin uses that ability, it merges him with his god!" Serenity said, furrowing her eyebrows as if she was thinking.

_"_Thank you Captain Obvious!_ We already knew that!"_ Marik replied sarcastically.

"Wait, I think Serenity might be onto something," Yugi said, knowing where Serenity was heading with this. "Maybe Melvin's weakness lies within that _special ability_. Seeing that this is a Shadow Game, the duel becomes more real, which means Melvin really will be merging with his monster."

_"The only problem is, even with that plan, it's still harming me!"_ Marik pointed out.

_"That's right,"_ Serenity remembered.

_"It's still a shot!"_ Yugi said. "I place one card face-down! Then, I summon Kuribi in defense mode!" A little pink puffball version of Kuriboh appeared in a defense position. "I end!"

"_Nice pet!_ You really have lost it! Don't forget! My little friend gets an attack on your turn!" Melvin reminded Yugi, pointing to Bowganian as he shot an arrow from his crossbow. The arrow hit right on Yugi's chest and left Yugi with 700 life points remaining. Atem jerked and more blood spat out of his mouth and onto Serenity's shirt.

_"Oh shit!"_ Marik responded with worry in his eyes.

"Atem, hold on!" Serenity cried out, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Brother!" Yugi cried out. Atem coughed, opening his blood-shot eyes and gazed at his brother. "_Please don't die!_ I'm gonna save you!"

"I'm afraid there's no hope now! This is my last turn!" Melvin smirked, drawing his next card. "I reveal Monster Reborn to bring out the Winged Dragon of Ra!" Monster Reborn was revealed and the Winged Dragon of Ra appeared beyond the clouds with bolts of lightning. It then turned into a fire-bird. "I give up 1000 of my life points to turn it into its Phoenix mode and destroy Obelisk the Tormentor!"

_"Atem!"_ Serenity cried out, holding her boyfriend tightly in her arms. Licks of fire spread throughout the whole arena. Suddenly, a huge puffball appeared, shielding Obelisk the Tormentor. Seto was able to catch an eye on the puffball and slapped his hand on his face.

_"Son of a bitch,"_ Seto muffled through his hand.

"WHAT?" Melvin responded with widened eyes as he eyed a huge pink puffball in front of Obelisk the Tormentor. This was when Seto became so close to just_ losing it_.

"Kuribi's special ability activates! If a monster on the field is selected as an attack target while he's on the field, I can negate it!" Yugi declared as Melvin's head began boiling and everyone began gawking up laughing, even Marik. Serenity was trying her best not to laugh.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! HOW DARE YOU DEFEAT A GOD WITH THAT PUNY INSULT FOR A MONSTER!" Melvin shouted in anger as everyone laughed even louder.

_"Okay, this was so worth seeing!"_ Joey said through his laughter. _"And it's a sissy version of Kuriboh, which makes this even more funny!"_

"I guess I can say that at least that's not me," Seto said with narrowed eyes.

The Winged Dragon of Ra returned to the graveyard as Melvin glared with pure hatred at Yugi. Because Kuribi made his god's attack against Obelisk the Tormentor 0 and Atem was not harmed. It was a very smart and desperate move. Melvin was to make sure Yugi payed dearly for that little trick with Kuribi. He got out a card from his hand.

"_I'll make you pay for that!_ I play Surprise Attack From Beyond!" Melvin declared as he revealed his spell card. "With this, I can have another battle phase!"

"HEY! THAT'S NO FAIR!" Joey complained.

"COME ON OUT RA!" Melvin commanded as the Winged Dragon of Ra appeared once more in a large gold sphere. Everyone gasped or moaned in complaint.

_"_At least he can't use Ra in phoenix mode_,"_ Marik muttered.

"Time for Ra to continue his onslaught!" Melvin smirked. "I will pay all my life points, except 1, and give it all to Ra!" The Winged Dragon of Ra's attack was now 699 and Melvin's life point was 1.

_"Here it comes,"_ Serenity whispered to Atem, who was weakly staring at his girlfriend with blood-shot eyes.

_"No matter what happens, I'll always be fighting to live on,"_ Marik promised Yugi, who nodded in return.

"I can also sacrifice all my monsters to raise my god's attack!" Melvin declared. "Brace yourself!"

"Before you make your sacrifices, maybe you should _brace yourself_!" Yugi smirked as Melvin glared at him in confusion. "I reveal my face-down Soul Taker! With this I can sacrifice one monster from my enemy's side and in return, you gain 1000 life points!" Melvin now had 1001 life points.

"YOU FOOL! Spell cards don't work on Ra!"

"Who said I was sacrificing _Ra_?" Yugi asked as a twirling vortex surrounded Immortal God Slime and it disappeared and reappeared in Yugi's field. "Soul Taker's effect also lets me separate a fusion monster!" Immortal God Slime became Slime Token and Revival Jam. "Now, Marik's monsters can be used to power up Obelisk!" Obelisk took two of the monsters and sacrificed them as he turned into a reddish color. "Its effect is activated by getting rid of one monster from the field!"

Obelisk took its mighty fist and aimed for the Winged Dragon of Ra. Melvin smirked, "before you do that, I sacrifice Bowganian and Granadora to raise my god's attack points!" Bowganian and Ganadora disappeared from the field and the Winged Dragon of Ra now had 4899 attack. "Then, I activate Class System from my hand! If you have a monster with a lower rank than my monster, it can't destroy my monster! YOU CAN'T DESTROY RA! _WE ARE INVINCIBLE!_"

_"No... you're not!"_ A voice croaked out. Everyone gasped at the sight. It was non other than _Odion_! He was barely trying to stand up. _"Marik, I know you're there!"_

_"Odion!"_ Marik cried out, despite the fact he knew Odion couldn't hear him.

"_F*** you!_ Continue your attack, Ra!" Melvin declared as the Winged Dragon of Ra began its attack then...

"I reveal Dimensional Magic!" Yugi declared, revealing his face-down card. "This allows me to sacrifice two of my monsters!" Obelisk the Tormentor and Kuribi disappeared from the field, leaving everyone dumbfounded. "In return, I summon out a monster from my deck!"

"You're crazy to sacrifice a god for one of your worthless monsters! _NOBODY_ CAN DEFEAT GOD!" Melvin smirked aloud.

"You forget, the gods are not really _God_! They're divine-beasts under leadership of the Pharaoh and you're not a Pharaoh!" Yugi pointed out as a glass box appeared and out came Dark Magician. "To me, there are those more powerful than divine-beasts! _TEAMWORK!_" Dark Magician Girl appeared next to Dark Magician with fighting spirits with them. "Welcome Mahad!"

_"Thank you for finally letting me reunite with my favorite pupil! It's been a while!"_ Mahad said, turning his face to face Mana.

"These are the soul cards of me and my brother! When united, their attack points double!" Yugi said as Dark Magician's attack rose to 5000 and Dark Magician Girl's attack rose to 4000. "And Dark Magician will attack your _fused monster_ Ra!"

"You forget, if you destroy Ra, Marik won't have much left of him!" Melvin reminded, pointing his face at the spirited Marik behind the glowing blue bars. "As far as I'm concerned, he's dead!"

_"He's right, my body is not in good shape!"_ Marik said, staring at his body. He bit his bottom lip, knowing that this was the only way to defeat Melvin, but his other personality would have to die in the process... _unless..._

_"Marik, I may not have the strength to seal your other personality, but _you _can!"_ Odion shouted with what was left of his voice. Marik's eyes widened._ "Don't live in despair! That's not your fate, Marik! If you gain control, then Melvin will be the one _fed to the Shadows_! You're strong! You can get rid of Melvin! You don't need him to face despair!"_

_"_Maybe he's right_,"_ Marik muttered while closing his eyes. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked up at Yugi. _"Yugi, thanks for letting me stay, but it's time I took away my control on Atem to give myself enough energy to fight for control!"_ Marik disappeared from Atem's side and soul room.

"_What?_ You think you can-" Melvin smirked. Suddenly, his two hands grabbed a hold of his hair as if he was fighting against something. "_WHAT!_ YOU SON OF A- _AHHHHHHHHHHH!_"

Suddenly, Melvin buckled his knees and found himself balancing himself with his hands and knees. His face suddenly turned softer and was panting. He began coughing blood from his mouth, since he had dealt with who knows how many attacks from the Shadow Game. Wiping the blood from his mouth, Marik stood up on his feet, his legs shaking.

_"Finish him,"_ Marik said in a horse voice as Melvin all of a sudden was the one behind the glowing blue bared prison.

"Wha-What? _But how?_" Melvin asked in horror.

Dark Magician twirled his wand and shot dark energy at the Winged Dragon of Ra, destroying the monster completely and leaving Marik with 0 life points. Melvin screamed as he disappeared into the shadows. The dark sky disappeared and the Shadow Game ended. Then, Marik fell on his hands and knees and coughed a spatter of blood. While that was going on, Yugi suddenly fainted and Atem's spirited body disappeared from Serenity's arms. The blond gasped as she saw Yugi collapse, catching him.

Tea ran to the stage to see in horror, _Yugi_ now covered with who knows how many second and third degree burns, his clothes almost completely burned with black marks, a scabbing burned slash across his abdominal muscle and arm, a huge bleeding wound on his chest area, and two fang marks on his upper belly button area. It seemed that after the Shadow Game, since Yugi and Atem were now merged together again, Yugi began feeling the effects of the damage his brother took. Tea took Yugi into her arms.

_"He's passed out!"_ Tea cried.

"_Holy shit!_ Looks like Melvin did a piece of work here!" Joey said horrifyingly.

_"He's... not the only one,"_ Marik said hoarsely, trying to take the cape off. _"Seriously, a cape? What was Melvin thinking? Was he going to the opera or something?"_

"Co'mon! We have to take them to the hospital and pronto!" Hanaski cried aloud.

_"At least his job won't start until next week,"_ Seto muttered. He sighed, then climbed onto the stage, taking the Winged Dragon of Ra from Marik before flipping the guy over his shoulder. Marik groaned in complaint. "Suck it up! This place will be blowing up in about an hour, so I'd be getting myself on the blimp if I were you losers!"

Seto walked, with Marik over his shoulder, into the elevator toward the clinc. Everyone hurried, Joey carrying Yugi over his shoulder, to the blimp to prepare for takeoff. It was only an hour before the island blew up, so everyone had time to prepare to leave the island. Though, there was still worry about if Yugi and Atem would be okay after the hit they took.


	43. The End of Battle City

**Hey guys! I really want to continue this, since I'm almost finished with this story. It was epic so to speak. I was excited to have the final duel two chapters long. THANK GOODNESS! Anyways, here's the next chapter you guys have been waiting for. Review please!**

Yugi moaned while slowly opening his eyes to find himself on a hospital bed in the clinic room of the blimp. Tea was holding Yugi's hand loosely, slowly rubbing her thumb up and down the back of the hand. She then, slowly pushed those gold locks from Yugi's face.

"You okay, Yugi?" Tea asked as Yugi smiled and nodded.

"You better be, we've been sitting ducks here waiting for you to wake up for fifteen stinkin' minutes!" Ryan complained with folded arms.

_"You're up!"_ Yugi excitedly said.

"Of course I'm _up_!" Ryan said while rolling his eyes.

"Look, I said I was sorry!" Marik glared with folded arms.

"I don't appriciate being used like a rag doll and involving Ryou while you're at it! We're already having trouble with someone else controlling us and the last thing we want is another nutjob controlling us!"

"That's enough guys! Marik's already taken away his control from everyone. Just give it a rest!" Hanaski rebuked as the boys gave each other glaring glances.

"Mai also woke up after your win!" Joey mentioned.

"Where is she?" Yugi asked.

"Getting some grub. She was hungry after this whole bizarre adventure in the Shadow Realm," Ryan replied.

"At least everyone's okay," Tea said with a bright smile.

"Pharaoh!" Ishizu called out with a tender smile. "I want to thank you for looking after my brother and saving him."

"Of course!" Yugi replied.

"As the winner of Battle City, you also earn Marik's ante!" Seto said, handing Yugi the Winged Dragon of Ra card before Marik snatched it.

"Let _me_ do it! I'm not Melvin anymore!" Marik glared as Seto sighed while rolling his eyes. Marik smiled and gave Yugi the Winged Dragon of Ra. "Here's my ante,_ Big Mega Altra Chicken!_"

_"MARIK!"_ Ishizu rebuked as everyone began laughing their guts off.

"Sorry Ishizu, I couldn't resist, I've been inside Atem for too long!" Marik laughed. "Besides, it's like Yugi said, it's a Divine-Beast, not a real God. It's not gonna strike us down."

"Still, I feel bad for being the cause of you guys living underground around abuse for so long!" Yugi said aloud. "Please, don't hide yourselves in the dark to guard my memories anymore! Can't you protect them without hiding in the dark?"

"Of course we can! Tomb guardians originally never had to do that! They actually began doing that, because of wars, the Black Death, and other diseases, but we have medications and other things! It's time we moved on and lived in the real world," Ishizu declared, turning her head to face two of her brothers. "Don't you agree?"

"Yes Ishizu," Odion agreed as Marik nodded.

"Besides, I need Marik to be at a professional hospital for his condition! He will need psychiatric help and pronto! Father was against this kind of stuff, but he also was the cause of Marik's condition! I will not repeat his mistake!" Ishizu decided seriously with folded arms.

"That's probably for the best," Tea agreed.

_"That's gonna be tough,"_ Marik sighed, then remembered something. "Oh, I just remembered..." He got out the millennium rod from his back, hooked onto his belt. He handed it to Yugi. "I believe this is yours. I already gave Ryan back his ring."

"Thank you!" Yugi thanked Marik, taking the rod, then facing Seto. "Seto, before you go, I think you should have this. You know how to deal with emotion, so you can handle the millennium rod."

"You want me to be involved in your magic shit?" Seto asked as Yugi smirked in reply.

"You kinda already are anyways."

"_Hmph_ whatever! I suppose it'd help if I had something to use, so I can make sure my new employers don't turn their back on me!" Seto said, taking the millennium rod.

"Why are you giving millennium items to your friends? Wouldn't you need them to gain back your memories?" Marik asked.

"It's easier for a robber to steal them if they're together. Brother agrees!" Yugi explained.

"Makes perfect sense!" Odion agreed.

"Besides, these millennium items are _needed_ by my friends for their own battles. Ryan needs the ring to keep in contact with Ryou and check to make sure his dark side doesn't go out of control, Serenity needs the necklace to help with her panic anxiety, and Seto needs it to learn to trust," Yugi explained.

"You think this will help me learn to _trust_ people?" Seto asked with a sly smirk.

"I believe so. You can't even trust your own self to make the right friends. I think the millennium rod will help you go into people's minds to learn to understand them better. I know you're not into _control_, but you are into knowing what people want. In the long run, you'll eventually learn to know which people to trust and ones to not trust. Marik isn't the only one who needs _help_, Seto."

Seto furrowed his eyebrows. Deep inside, he knew Yugi was right. He had trouble with trusting his friends _and himself_ ever since being adopted by Gozoburro. It developed, later on, into not making any friends at all. When Seto finally made the right friend, he tried turning it down, but eventually making the situation worse than it already was. Yugi was right, Seto needed the help of the millennium rod.

Marik smirked widely, then said, "there's also one more thing I must do." he took his shirt off and everyone gasped at the markings on his back. Joey made a loud whistling sound.

"Holy shit! Your family had to carve that thing on your back?" Joey asked with widen eyes.

"Yep, and it hurt too! I just wished this was a dragon and not the Pharaoh's memories, no offense," Marik said.

"Non taken," Yugi assured. "I'm so sorry about that. I guess when Mom said tattoos were bad, she wasn't kidding."

"So... you know what any of this says, because it looks all greek to me," Joey said.

_"In the future, the one will come who will wield the slabs of the three gods. Only by the gods shall you know him, who the Pharaoh's soul resides,"_ Seto read as everyone stared at him with blinking eyes. "I just went into Marik's soul room to find the translation. I'm tired of reading crap."

_"OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_ Everyone understood.

"Wait, Yugi can you read this shit?" Joey asked Yugi as he nodded.

"My memories are sealed within the stone slab from the museum," Yugi said.

"After you gain your memories, you must return to Egypt to complete your mission," Marik said, before putting his shirt back on . "Then, you can return to the Underworld along with your family and friends you lost 3000 years ago."

"Wait, you mean Yugi has to _leave_?" Joey asked freaking out.

"Yeah, I thought you already knew. Yugi's what? _3000 years old?_ He's too old to be living among the living! Right after he gains his memories, he has to return to Egypt. That's why I was trying to get my revenge in Battle City and not wait until later," Marik explained. Everyone stared at Yugi in horror.

"I didn't want you to worry. I'm not planning on gaining my memories right away," Yugi admitted meekly with his head bowed. Tea stared at Yugi's held hand.

"So, you really will have to leave us huh?" Tea asked as Yugi sadly nodded.

"_Wow..._ what's Atem's intake on this?" Joey asked.

"He's sad too. I think he might take it harder than the rest of you guys," Yugi replied before feeling Hanaski's embrace. "I really want to stay right now! I want to make sure Brother is ready to leave me before I do anything!"

"Normally, I would just go right away, but if you wanna stay a little longer, fine with me," Marik shrugged, then headed back to his room.

"Yugi, I need you to let Atem take control. We have one more thing to finish! You have less than 55 minutes!" Seto said before leaving the blimp.

"What the hell do you need to finish? In case you haven't noticed, Atem or Yugi aren't well enough for anything!" Tristan pointed out.

"Except he's the new manager of Kaiba Corp in Domino City and needs to know the roots," Seto responded as everyone's eyes lit. He let out a smirk. "Guess he never told you the good news. _What a shock!_"

"Wow, didn't see that coming. It's almost as confusing as the time when Tristan's name was spelled with an O instead of an A," Joey said as everyone stared at him with blinking eyes. "_OH WHAT?_ YOU DIDN'T NOTICE?"

"I noticed Brother's name being spelled _Adam_ instead of Atem... _weird_," Yugi said.

"_That was only one time!_ Oh sure, you notice that, but Tristan's name on the other hand!" Joey glared while rolling his eyes as everyone laughed.

Yugi turned his gaze at Tea and asked, "think you can get me off this bed?"

Tea took a good hold of Yugi, then helped him off the bed. He held onto the bed before sitting down on the wheel chair. Tea rolled Yugi out of the blimp to where Seto was waiting. He decided to roll Yugi the rest of the way as he changed into Atem. Seto decided to fly Atem to the Kaiba Corp building on his jet and show Atem the roots of being manager. Since the building was temporarily closed due to the tournament, Seto could just explain things and roll Atem around on the wheel chair and nobody will have to see him looking all cooked up like a fried potato. Seto was thankful for that, especially since Atem was in no good shape at this point.

"After I show you the roots, I'll take you to the hospital," Seto promised.

_"Mom is gonna freak,"_ Atem muttered before letting out a sigh. "Both at the fact this tournament was a death zone and the fact that I'm gonna be running a business as manager."

"That fact is true," Seto agreed with a smile. "Though, at least we made it out alive. I'm also confident that you will heal up very soon from your injuries. I'm just afraid you might be left with major scars."

_"I'll live."_

"You still choose the scars over the haircut?"

"Yep."

Seto smirked as Atem sighed, then they both made it to the location of the hatch. Seto opened the hatch, then carried Atem bridal style from the wheel chair, much to his dislike. Seto carefully climbed down the hatch, carrying Atem with one hand while he had his arms around the CEO President's neck. The area was cooler this time, like a business office where it's always cold.

After Seto made it to the basement of the Military Base, he carried Atem up the jet and placed him into the second seat in the back. Seto climbed onto the front driver's seat and began starting the military jet, owned by Gozoburro before he committed suicide. It surprisingly was still working.

Atem smiled softly as the jet prepared for takeoff and the roof top to the basement opened and gave the flying jet room to takeoff. A ramp appeared in front of the jet and it began driving up the ramp and across the wide area before lifting off the ground after the blimp took off. Seto had informed Mokuba to be in charge of the blimp and make sure it took off and nobody waited for him or Atem.

Atem looked out the window and saw his friends wave to him. He waved back before the jet flew ahead of the gang. It was the end of their adventure and a new one was beginning. For right now, Atem's next adventure was learning more about how to work on his new job at Kaiba Corp.


	44. Epilogue: A New Journey

**SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH! Lol I love that. Yep guys, this is the Epilogue! I figured this chapter needed an ending after _the ending_. Like to figure out what happened after that whole caboodle. I mean there was one in the anime, why not this one? Okay, review please!**

Atem woke up in the hospital bed inside the Domino Hospital, which he had been sent to after given the roots to being the manager of Kaiba Corp. Seto had told the doctors that Atem had ran into some _electrical burns_ from the destroyed Military Base and other things. He was willing to pay for Atem's medical needs, since they were needed. He also informed the doctors to call Uka and Solomon to let them know about Atem's _conditions_.

After a whole hour of explaining a whole lie bigger than his paycheck, Seto came into Atem's room with a box of chocolates and threw them to Atem.

"You're gonna get more from your other friends, I fear," Seto smirked, sitting down on Atem's bedside.

"Thanks," Atem said, taking a piece of chocolate and throwing it in his mouth. _"At least I'm school free for a few days."_

"I'm sure Joey will be happy to give you your makeup work."

_"Great."_

"Want to play a round?" Seto asked as Atem nodded and he brought out a chess board.

"Still going for it, aren't ya?" Atem smirked with a slight chuckle. "I'll be black, you be white."

Atem and Seto played Chess for a long while. Things seemed to be going either of their favors. Seto was willing to beat Atem at this game, since this was the game he defeated Gozoburro with for him and Mokuba to be adopted. Atem was setting his pawns to surround Seto's king. Seto was not willing to let his opponent get the best of him.

Uka eventually peeked her head inside Atem's room. Atem smiled and nodded, to signal her to come in.

"Honey, are you okay? I heard you had a terrible accident!" Uka asked.

"Feel like a new man, especially since I kicked Seto's butt," Atem replied before moving his Bishop to an area next to Seto's king. _"Check mate!"_ Seto moaned loudly in complaint and Atem laughed at the fact that Seto was trying so hard not to curse in front of his mother.

_"Oh baby, you look terrible!"_

"You think _I'm_ terrible, you should've seen the military base."

Uka eyed Seto and greeted, "Hello Seto, how you doing?"

"Very well, thank you," Seto replied before hearing the door open again and much to the boys' dismay, it was Marik.

"Hey, I hope this isn't the wrong room where I end up finding a mummified body and start making a pathetic speech like I'm winning an Oscar," Marik teased as Yami rolled his eyes.

"You here to bring chocolates or balloons?" Atem asked as he ate another chocolate.

"Balloons," Marik said, bringing two_ 'get well'_ balloons. "I would've added chocolates too, but I don't know your taste in chocolates and I wanted to do something to make it up to you."

"You're fine, Marik! I think helping Yugi gain his memories was more than enough!"

_"Memories?"_ Uka asked in surprise.

"Oh, I wanted to save that for a surprise, but you know how Yugi doesn't remember who he is? Well, come to find out, we found _someone_ who knows about Yugi's lost memories and how to return them!" Atem explained as Uka gasped slightly.

"So, this is your mom?" Marik asked as Atem nodded. "Nice to meet ya! Name's Marik Ishtar!"

"Nice to meet you, Marik. You know about Yugi's memories?" Uka asked.

"Are you kidding? It's carved on my back! My family has been protecting it for 3000 years!"

_"Car-"_

"Trust me Mom, you DON'T wanna see it!" Atem warned Uka with his hand covering his face. "And don't you dare show it or I'll kick your ass from here Marik!"

_"Atem language!"_ Uka rebuked.

_"Okay, okay,"_ Marik agreed, rolling his eyes. "Anyways, there's not much else to say besides keep the god cards safe and try to annoy my sister more often."

Atem chuckled, then replied, "okay, I will. Did she tell you to tell me not to_ insult the gods_ anymore?"

"Yep, but she forgot the fact I _never_ listen to her."

_"True,"_ Atem said while rolling his eyes. "Thanks for coming by!"

"No prob."

"And thank you for your help," Uka thanked Marik.

"Well, I do kinda owe it to Atem for putting him through that shit," Marik admitted.

"Speaking of which, how was your visit?" Atem asked while Uka looked all confused.

"The doctor prescribed me with some meds and told me to schedule an appointment when I get back to Egypt for my condition. Said it's common and _can_ be treated. Surprisingly, my condition wasn't as bad as most were."

"_Really?_ Well, I'm glad you're getting help."

"Yeah, I doubt if Melvin will be returning anytime soon, so there's some good news right there," Marik smirked while tying the balloons to the bed post. "Good luck on your first day as manager! I want a full picture of you in your uniform and new haircut."

"Oh_ f-_orget you!" Atem shouted as Marik laughed while leaving.

_"Melvin?"_ Uka asked.

"Multi Personality Disorder, had it during the tournament and possessed a millennium item, which explains Atem's..._ accident._ Atem believed in helping Yugi retrieve his memories was worth getting himself cooked like a potato," Seto explained.

"Wait, you mean this was all _magic_?"

"_Yeah..._ I didn't want to worry you, Mom," Atem admitted with a low sigh. "When entering Battle City, I found Marik, who was the carrier of the millennium rod, but he had a disorder, which made him think _Yugi_ murdered his father..." Uka gasped in horror. "Though, I knew if Yugi didn't get his memories back, he would be stuck not knowing who he is or where he came from. He would be miserable here, stuck in the dark. Besides that, I knew Marik would be after him either way, so I decided to face him and win the keys to Yugi's memories."

"To translate, _Atem's always getting himself in trouble!_ To change the subject, Atem's also new manager of Kaiba Corp in Domino City while I get started on the one in America," Seto said.

"_Really?_ You think he can run it?" Uka asked.

"He has the capability. Besides, it might be good for him. He can learn to tone down his language," Seto smirked.

_"I hate you, you know,"_ Atem glared.

"Well, that's good," Uka replied happily. "What will happen if he curses?"

"He has to pay a good 10 bucks from his salary per word and if he uses any type of body language cursing, that'll be 20," Seto replied.

"Hm, if it works, maybe I should start doing that."

_"Mom!"_ Atem complained as Uka chuckled.

"I'll be taking off in a few days. Until then, I'll be visiting often to give Atem some background about his profession and even continually remind him of his _haircut appointment_," Seto informed with a sly smirk as Atem glared deeply, clutching onto the sheets of the bed, making a middle finger. "Did I mention I have zooming security cameras?"

_"Atem!"_ Uka rebuked.

"I'll be going before I stir up Atem some more to give him more of a reason to hate me. _So long,_" Seto said before leaving the room.

Atem sighed while leaning back against his bed, saying, "he irritates me sometimes."

"Well, you do need to cut that hair of yours. It sticks up like your father's!" Uka said, brushing her fingers through Atem's hair.

_"Mom!"_ Atem complained with his cheeks reddening. "Anyways, have you found a boyfriend yet or will I forever be haunted by the _no father_ policy?"

_"I love you, Atem!"_ Uka responded while kissing her son's head.

"I think Mr. Hudson from science is still single. You could try him."

"Son, I'm not dating anyone right now! I haven't found my _Mr. Right_ yet! You'll understand when you get married."

"You could also try _eHarmony_."

_"Son."_

"Just a suggestion," Atem shrugged.

**Yes, that's the end of that. I wanted a unique ending, so... _you know! _Anyways, the next sequel after this is At-Em-Oh Rebirth. THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS! I'm going to do Yu-Gi-Oh R based! Though, I can't find any online links to the full version of Yu-Gi-Oh R. I have found spoilers, but that's pretty much it. I will need the full version of Yu-Gi-Oh R. If any of you guys have a copy you could send me or a link you can give me, please let me now on your reviews. Anyways, here's the summery of At-Em-Oh Rebirth:**

**Atem is now the new manager of Kaiba Corp. With this new job includes settling deals, stocks, and other major decisions. It also comes with huge stress and friends who cannot sympathize with Atem's situation anymore, except Yugi. Atem suddenly runs into a new enemy that is proven to be a major threat to the company, his boss, and himself when his and Yugi's soul are sealed in cards by Pegasus' twin son Yako Tenma, the coe President of Industrial Illusions, for revenge against Seto Kaiba. After discovering this horrible news, Seto decides to return to Domino City to rescue his friend. Meanwhile, Gekko gains help from Atem's other friends Joey, Tea, Tristan, and Hanaski to get to Yako and save him from committing a desperate attempt to revive Pegasus from the dead and making the most horrible mistake. Though, Yako has made the company security to where only professional duelists can enter and win key cards to the room where Atem's body lies. With the gang separated, can Hanaski and Joey win the key cards to rescue his best friend? Will Seto defeat Yako before he takes over Kaiba Corp against his Wicked God cards? Will Atem's friends, the coe Presidents of Industrial Illusions, and Seto ever come to an understanding? New heroes, new twists, and surprising foes, but in the end, it all comes down to _sympathizing_ being the solution to this great threat. _Atem's wish to the puzzle is about to be put to the test!_**


End file.
